UNIVERSITY  OF 


NQN  CIRCULATING 

CHECK  FOR  UNBOUND 
CIRCULATING  COPY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


BULLETIN  No.  144 


GROWING   TOMATOES    FOR 
EARLY    MARKET 


Bv  JOHN  W.  LLOYD  AXD  I.  S.  BROOKS 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS,  FEBRUARY,   1910 


SUMMARY  OF  BULLETIN  No.  144 

1.  Large,  well  grown  plants  are  essential  to  the  production  of  large  yields 
of  early  tomatoes.  Page  47 

2.  Fire  hotbeds  are  extensively  used   in   southern   Illinois    for  the  growing 
of  tomato  plants.  Page  54 

3.  Manure  hotbeds  are  more  cheaply  constructed  than  fire  hotbeds,  but  are 
less  reliable  in  cold  weather.  Page  57 

4.  For  early  tomatoes  the  seed  is  sown  in  February.  Page  60 

5.  In  March,  the  seedlings  are  shifted  to  another  hotbed,  where  they  are 
placed  three  inches  apart.  Page  61 

6.  After  growing  in  the  second  hotbed  three  or  four  weeks,  the  plants  are 
placed  six  inches  apart  in  a  cloth-covered  coldframe.  Page  62 

7.  Tomato   plants   must   be   carefully  hardened   off 'before  they  are  set 'in 
the  field.  Page  63 

8.  The  results  of  four  years'   fertilizer  experiments  in  Union  county  indi- 
cate that   for  the  production   of  early  tomatoes  in  that  vicinity,  a  mixture  of 
steamed  bone,    dried   blood   and    potassium   sulfate   is    superior   to   the   various 
other  fertilizers  tested.  Page  65 

9.  The  results  of  experiments  in  pruning  and  training  indicate  that  pruning 
tomato  plants  to  single  stems  reduces  the  yield  of  both  early  and  late    fruit, 
exposes  the  fruits  to  sunscald  and  cracking,  and  does  not  materially  increase 
their  size.     However,  staking  tomatoes,  without  pruning,  places  the  crop  under 
the  grower's  control ;    and  in  the  Union   county  experiments  it   increased   the 
yield  over  that  of  untrained  plants.  Page  71 

10.  The  results  of  five  years'  experiments  in  Union  county  show  that  the 
leaf  spot  of  the  tomato    (Septoria  lycopersici)    can  be  controlled  by  spraying 
with  Bordeaux  mixture.  Page  79 

11.  Tomatoes    for    shipment   to    distant   markets    should   be   picked   before 
they  are   fully  colored,  but  for  local  markets  may  be  allowed  to  ripen  on  the 
vines.  Page  83 

12.  Rigid  grading  of  tomatoes  is  essential  to  successful  marketing. 

Page  84 

13.  The  standard  package  for  tomatoes  produced  in  southern  Illinois  is  the 
four-basket  crate.     In  the  ideal  pack  each  basket  contains  twelve  tomatoes. 

Page  85 

14.  For  the  production  of  tomatoes   acceptable  to  the  trade,  only  smooth- 
fruited  varieties  should  be  grown.  Page  87 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 

BY  JOHN  W.  L<L,OYD,  ASSISTANT  CHIEF  IN  OLERICULTURE,  AND 
I.  S.  BROOKS,  ASSISTANT  IN  OLERICULTURE 

Tomatoes  are  grown  by  nearly  every  market  gardener  and  in 
some  localities  the  shipment  of  tomatoes  to  distant  markets  is  an 
important  industry.  Early  tomatoes  usually  bring  much  higher 
prices  than  late,  and  it  is  the  early  crop  for  which  most  gardeners 
strive.  Several  factors  have  a  bearing  upon  the  successful  produc- 
tion of  early  tomatoes,  and  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  publication  to 
consider  somewhat  in  detail  the  methods  employed  by  commercial 
growers  in  the  production  of  this  important  crop,  together  with  the 
results  of  certain  experiments  conducted  by  the  Illinois  Agricult- 
ural Experiment  Station. 

INFLUENCE  OF  CHARACTER  OF  PLANTS  UPON  YIELD 

OF  TOMATOES 

The  size  and  character  of  the  plants  at  the  time  of  transplanting 
to  the  field  have  a  marked  influence  on  the  yield  of  early  tomatoes. 
The  age  of  the  plants  and  the  conditions  under  which  they  have 
been  gro\vn  determine  their  size  and  character.  Plants  ten  or  even 
twelve  weeks  old,  that  have  made  a  slow,  steady  growth,  and  have 
been  provided  with  sufficient  room  so  that  they  have  remained 
stocky,  and  have  retained  all  their  lower  leaves  in  a  vigorous  and 
healthy  condition,  are  capable  of  giving  quick  results  provided 
they  can  be  transplanted  to  the  field  without  seriously  disturbing 
their  root  systems.  However,  an  old  plant  that  has  begun  to 
stretch  for  light  or  to  lose  its  lower  leaves,  or  to  turn  yellow-  because 
of  outgrowing  its  allotted  space,  is  inferior  to  a  younger  and 
smaller  plant  occupying  the  same  space.  Within  reasonable  limits, 
then,  the  size  and  age  at  which  plants  are  to  be  set  will  be  deter- 
mined largely  by  the  amount  of  space  they  can  be  allowed  while 
growing,  and  the  provisions  which  can  be  made  for  transplanting 
them  without  disturbing  the  roots. 

In  order  to  secure  some  definite  data  regarding  the  influence  of 
the  age  and  character  of  the  plants  upon  their  yield  of  early  fruits, 
some  tests  were  made  at  Urbana  in  1908  and  1909.  In  1908  dif- 
ferent lots  of  plants  were  grown  as  follows : 

47 


48 


BULLETIN   No.    144 


[February, 


1.  Seed  sown  in  flat  in  greenhouse   March   i.     Seedlings  potted  up  in  21/2- 

inch  pots  March  21,  and  shifted  to  4-inch  pots  April  10.  Pots  trans- 
ferred to  coldframe  April  14. 

2.  Seed  sown  in  2^-inch  pots  in  greenhouse  March   i.     Seedlings  thinned 

early  to  one  in  a  pot,  and  shifted  to  4-inch  pots  April  11.  Pots 
transferred  to  coldframe  April  14.  Plants  shifted  to  6-inch  pots 
May  5. 

3.  Seed   sown  in  flat  in  greenhouse,  March   i.     Seedlings  pricked  out  into 

other  flats,  3"x.V.  March  21,  and  set  in  soil  of  coldframe  6"x6" 
April  14. 

4.  Seed    sown    in   hotbed   April    i.      Seedlings    shifted   to    coldframe   3"*3' 

April  20. 

5.  Seed  sown  in  coldframe   April  20.     Plants  set  in   field  without  previous 

shifting. 

Ten  plants  from  each  lot  were  set  in  the  field  May  16,  when 
the  oldest  plants  were  approximately  eleven  weeks  old.  A  hot, 
dry  wind  was  blowing  at  the  time  the  planting  was  done,  and  the 
plants  grown  without  pots  suffered  considerably  in  the  transplant- 
ing, while  the  pot-grown  plants  did  not  wilt  in  the  least. 

These  five  lots  of  plants,  grown  under  different  conditions  un- 
til time  of  setting  in  the  field,  but  set  in  the  field  the  same  clay  and 
given  identical  treatment  thereafter,  afforded  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity of  testing  the  influence  of  the  early  treatment  and  age  of  the 
plants  upon  the  resulting  crop.  The  following  tabular  statement 
gives  the  date  the  earliest  fruit  ripened  in  each  plat,  the  date  when 
the  various  plats  averaged  one  ripe  fruit  per  plant,  and  the  yield 
of  early  fruit  in  pounds  per  plant.  In  this  connection,  "early  fruit" 
means  all  marketable  fruit  which  ripened  previous  to  August  n. 
Up  to  that  date,  all  the  tomatoes  suitable  for  market  were  sold  to 
Champaign  and  Urbana  grocers  for  $2.25  per  bushel.  After  that 
date,  local  tomatoes  became  abundant  and  the  price  dropped  rap- 
idly to  5oc  per  bushel,  and  remained  at  approximately  that  figure 
the  rest  of  the  season. 

TABLE  1.— YIELDS   OF    EARLY    TOMATOES    FROM   PLVXTS  GROWN-   UNDEK 
DIFFERENT  CONDITIONS,  1908 


Lot 

Treatment 

First  ripe 
fruit 

Date  ave. 
one  ripe 
fruit  per 
plant 

L/b.  early 
fruit  per 
plant 

1 

Seeded  Mar.  1  in  flat;  shifted  to 

July  15 

July  24 

4  12 

2 
3 

Seeded  Mar  1  in  2^"  pots;  shift- 
ed to  4"  and  6"  pots  

Seeded  Mar.  1  in  flat;  shifted  to 
other  flat;  then  coldframe 
6"  x  6"  

July  11 
July  15 

July  21 
Julv  27 

5.91 
2.91 

4 

Seeded  Apr.  1  in  hotbed;  shifted 
to  coldframe  3"  x  3"  

July  24 

Aug.  5 

1.65 

5 

Seeded  Apr.  20  in  coldframe;  not 
shifted  

Aug.  10 

Aug.  14 

25 

GROWING  TOMATOES  FLK  EARLY  MAKI.ET  49 

These  figures  show  that  Lot  2  was  plainly  superior  to  all  the 
others  in  -every  respect.  How  much  of  this  superiority  was  due 
to  the  starting  of  the  seeds  in  pots,  so  that  the  root  systems  of  the 
plants  were  not  disturbed  in  shifting-  as  was  the  case  with  the  seed- 
lings started  in  the  flat,  and  how  much  to  the  final  shift  to  six-inch 
pots,  was  not  determined.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the  plants 


/*- 


FIG.  1.  TOMATO  PLANTS  AT  LEFT  FROM  SEED  SOWN  IN  POTS  (LOT  2);  AT 
RIGHT,  FROM  SEED  SOWN  IN  FLAT,  AND  SEEDLINGS  SHIFTED  (LOT  1). 
APRIL  24,  1908. 

started  in  pots  were  larger  at  all  stages  of  their  development  be- 
fore setting  in  the  field  than  those  started  in  flats  on  the  same  date, 
and  that  after  being  set  in  the  field  they  were  the  first  to  set  fruit. 
The  advantage  of  setting  large  plants  of  considerable  age,  is  clearly 
shown  by  the  markedly  greater  yields  of  early  fruits  from  the 
plants  started  March  i  as  compared  with  those  started  April  i 
and  20. 

That  there  is  no  advantage  in  retaining  plants  in  the  coldframe 
after  the  normal  season  for  putting  them  in  the  field,  even  if  they 
are  given  ample  room  in  the  frame,  is  illustrated  by  the  perform- 
ance of  ten  plants  that  were  grown  under  the  same  conditions  as 
those  in  Lot  i  up  to  the  time  the  latter  were  set  in  the  field,  but 
were  then  shifted  to  6-inch  pots  and  held  in  the  coldframe  till  June 
i.  These  plants  were  in  thrifty  condition  when  placed  in  the  field 
and  suffered  no  apparent  injury  in  the  transplanting,  but  they  were 
slow  in  coming  into  bearing,  not  ripening  their  first  fruit  until 
July  17,  and  producing  only  1.79  Ib.  of  fruit  per  plant  before 
August  1 1 . 

In  1909,  further  tests  were  made,  the  first  seed  being  sown 
earlier  than  in  1908,  with  a  view  to  having  large,  well-developed 
plants  ready  for  setting  out  at  the  earliest  date  the  weather  would 
permit.  The  various  lots  of  plants  were  grown  as  follows : 


SO  BULLETIN    No.    144  [February, 

1.  Seed  sown  in   flat  in  greenhouse  February   13.      Seedlings  potted   up  in 

3-inch  pots  March  13,  shifted  to  4-inch  pots  April  3,  and  to  6-inch 
pots  April  19.  Pots  transferred  to  coldframe  April  19.  Plants  set 
in  field  May  4.  At  the  time  of  setting  in  the  field  these  plants  were 
large  and  well  developed  and  not  in  the  least  pot-bound.  A  few 
were  in  bloom. 

2.  Grown  the  same  as  lot  No.   i,  but  held  in  the  coldframe  until  May  15, 

when  they  were  set  in  the  field.  At  the  time  of  setting,  these  plants 
were  rather  tall  and  the  foliage  was  lighter  in  color  than  it  should 
have  been  owing  to  the  long  time  the  plants  had  been  held  in  the 
coldframe.  These  plants  were  13  weeks  old  when  set  in  the  field. 

3.  Seed  sown  in  flat  in   greenhouse  February  27.     Seedlings  potted  up  in 

2^4-inch  pots  March  23,  shifted  to  4-inch  pots  April  12  and  to  6-inch 
pots  April  24.  Pots  transferred  to  coldframe  April  24.  When  set  in 
the  field,  May  15,  these  plants  were  in  ideal  condition,  being  8  to  10 
inches  tall  and  extremely  stocky,  with  dark  green  foliage  all  the  way 
to  the  bottom.  Blossom  buds  were  visible  on  every  plant,  but  no 
blooms  were  open.  Roots  could  be  seen  next  to  the  pot  but  the 
plants  were  not  in  the  least  pot-bound. 

4.  Seeds    sown    in    2^-inch    pots    in    greenhouse    February   27.      Seedlings 

thinned  early  to  one  in  a  pot,  and  shifted  to  4-inch  pots  April  12; 
shifted  to  6-inch  pots  April  24.  Pots  transferred  to  ccldframe  April 
24.  Set  in  field  May  15.  These  plants  did  not  make  a  good  growth 
in  the  2^-inch  pots  and  were  still  small  even  when  shifted  to  the 
6-inch  pots.  The  slow  growth  of  these  plants  was  directly  opposite 
to  the  performance  of  those  similarly  grown  in  1908,  and  was  prob- 
ably due  to  some  difference  in  the  soil  used  in  the  2^-inch  pots. 
Altho  small  when  set  in  the  field,  as  compared  with  plants  of 
Lot  3,  these  plants  were  short,  stocky  and  of  good  color. 

5.  Seed  sown  in  flat  in  greenhouse  February  27.     Seedlings  pricked  out  into 

another  flat  3"x3",  March  23.  Plants  set  in  soil  of  coldframe  4"xs", 
April  22.  Set  in  field  May  15.  These  plants  were  rather  tall  when 
placed  in  the  coldframe  and  did  not  make  a  very  satisfactory  growth 
there.  They  should  have  been  allowed  more  space.  They  were  too 
tall  and  the  foliage  was  rather  light  colored  when  they  were  set  in 
the  field. 

6.  Seed  sown   in   flat  in  greenhouse  February  27.     Seedlings  potted  up  in 

2^-inch  pots  March  23,  and  shifted  to  4-inch  pots  April  12.  Pots 
transferred  to  coldframe  April  24.  Set  in  field  May  15.  These 
plants  were  treated  the  same  as  thore  of  Lot  3  except  that  the  final 
shift  to  6-inch  pots  was  omitted.  When  set  in  the  field,  they  had 
begun  to  stretch  for  light,  and  were  about  14  inches  tall.  The  lower 
foliage  was  yellow  and  the  roots  were  pot-bound. 

~.  Seed  sown  in  flat  in  greenhouse  March  27.  Seedlings  pricked  out  into 
another  flat,  3"x3",  April  16.  Flat  transferred  to  coldframe  April 
24.  When  set  in  the  field,  May  15,  these  plants  were  rather  small, 
that  is,  about  six  inches  tall,  but  were  stocky  and  in  good  healthy 
condition.  They  were  planted  with  the  dirt  adhering  to  the  roots, 
and  did  not  wilt  in  the  least. 

8.  Seed  sown  in  flat  in  greenhouse  April  17.  Flat  transferred  to  coldframe 
as  soon  as  seedlings  were  up.  Plants  set  in  field  May  15  without 
previous  shifting.  They  were  at  this  time  about  three  inches  tall, 
and  were  just  putting  out  the  first  pair  of  true  leaves.  Since  they 
were  set  without  dirt  adhering  to  the  roots,  they  wilted  badly,  even 
tho  care  was  taken  to  prevent  nndue  exposure  during  the  plant- 
ing. They  were  the  onlv  plait-  whidi  wilted  after  being  set -in  the 
field. 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 


51 


All  plants  were  given  identical  treatment  after  being  set  in  the 
rield,  except  for  the  tillage  received  by  the  plants  set  May  4  before 
the  others  were  transplanted.  Any  differences  in  earliness  and 

yield,  then,  must  have 
been  due  to  differ- 
ences in  the  plants 
caused  by  differences 
in  age  and  methods 
of  handling.  The  fol- 
lowing tabular  state- 
ment shows  the  date 
of  ripening  of  the  ear- 
liest fruit  from  each 
lot,  the  date  at  which 
each  lot  averaged  one 
ripe  fruit  per  plant, 
the  yield  of  market- 
able fruit  before  Aug- 
ust i,  and  the  yield 
up  to  August  12.  The 
reason  for  making 
this  division  of  the 
yield  of  early  fruits  is 
that  up  to  August  i, 
the  price  of  tomatoes 
on  the  local  market 
was  $2.40  per  bushel, 
while  from  August  I 
to  12  it  averaged 
$1.40  per  bushel.  Af- 
ter that  the  price 
dropped  to  6oc,  and 

FIG.  2.  TOMATO  PLANT  IN  IDEAL  CONDITION  (\\d  not  reach  above 
FOR  SETTING  IN  FIELD.  FROM  LOT  l,  AS  goc  aj.  any  fjme  later 
SET,  MAY  4, 1909.  in  the  season. 


52 


No. 


[February, 


TA.BI.K   2.    -YIELDS   OK    EARLY    TOMATOES    FROM    PLANTS   GROWN   UNDER 
DIFFERENT  CONDITIONS,  1909 


Lot 

Treatment 

First  ripe 
fruit 

Date  Ave. 
one  ripe 
fruit  per 
plant 

L,b.  per  plant 

Be- 
fore 
A.iiff.1 

To 

Aug. 
12 

1 
2 

Seeded  Feb.  13;  shifted  to  3",  4" 
and  6"  pota.     Set  May  4.  .... 

July  13 

July  21 

3.73 

9.8'J 

Seeded  Feb.  13;  shifted  to  3",  4" 

and  6"  pots.     Set  May  15  .  .  . 

July  13 

July  17 

2.05 

(..41 

3 

Seeded  Feb.  27;  shifted  to  2l/2"  , 
4"  and  6"  pots.     Set  May  15 

July  10 

July  19 

2.52 

7.20 

4 

5 
6 

Seeded    Feb.    27    in    2l/2"    pots; 
shifted    to  4"   and  6"    pots. 
Set  May  15  

July  15 
July  15 

July  23 
July  19 

2.50 
1.46 

7.46 
5.34 

Seeded  Feb.  27  in  flat;  shifted  to 
other  flat,   then,    coldframe. 
Set  May  15  

Seeded  Feb.  27  in  flat;  shifted  to 

2^"  and  4"  pots.  Set  May  15 

July  15 

July  21 

•>   2"" 

5  .  f>9 

7 
8 

Seeded  Mar.  27;  shifted  to  3"  x  3". 
Set  May  15  

July  23 
Auer.  7 

July  30 
Auir.   11 

.96 

0.00 

5.37 
.79 

Seeded  Apr.    17.      Not  shifted. 
Set  May  15.. 

This  table  shows  that  the  early  plants  set  May  4  did  not  ripen 
their  first  fruit  any  earlier  than  some  of  the  other  lots,  but  that 
they  made  by  far  the  heaviest  yield  of  early  fruit.  These  plants 
were  set  before  the  normal  season  for  planting"  tomatoes  in  this 
locality,  and  before  it  was  really  safe  to  set  them,  for  altho  the 
weather  was  warm  and  pleasant  at  the  time  they  were  set,  a  frost 
occurred  a  week  later  and  caused  slight  injury  to  the  plants.  How- 
ever, favorable  weather  followed,  and  the  plants  were  evidently 
not  seriously  checked  in  their  development.  That  holding-  the 
plants  in  the  coldframe  after  they  have  reached  the  fullest  develop- 
ment consistent  with  their  allotted  space  seriously  interferes  with 
their  production  of  early  tomatoes  is  well  shown  by  the  record  of 
Lot  2  as  compared  with  Lot  I.  This  same  point  is  further  illus- 
trated by  the  showing-  of  Lot  6,  held  in  4-inch  pots,  as  compared 
with  Lot  3,  in  which  plants  of  the  same  age  had  been  shifted  to 
6-inch  pots,  so  that  they  were  not  checked  in  their  development 
previous  to  setting  in  the  field.  A  comparison  of  Lots  2  and  3 
also  shows  that  the  younger  plants  produced  the  better  results  by 
reason  of  being  unchecked  in  growth  previous  to  setting.  Altho 
the  plants  of  Lot  4,  grown  from  seed  sown  directly  in  pots,  were 
much  smaller  than  those  of  Lot  6  at  the  time  of  setting  in  the 
field,  and  were  a  few  days  later  in  ripening  their  earliest  fruits,  the 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FCR  EARLY  MARKET 


S3 


yield  of  fruit  before  August  I  was  approximately  the  same  and 
the  yield  up  to  August  12  was  greater  for  the  plants  started  in  pots. 
In  fact,  this  lot  produced  the  highest  yield  of  early  fruit  of  any  of 
the  lots  set  in  the  field  on  the  same  date.  This  corroborates  the 
results  obtained  in  1908,  tho  the  differences  are  not  so  striking. 

The  plants  shifted  from  the  flat  to  the  soil  of  the  coldframe 
(Lot  5)  were  no  later  in  ripening  their  first  fruit  than  two  of  the 
lots  of  pot-grown  plants  of  the  same  age,  but  the  yield  before 


FIG.  3.    .TOMATO  PLANTS  OK  SAME  AGE,  IN  SIX-INCH  AND   FOUR- 
INCH  POTS,  FROM  LOTS  3  AND  6  RESPECTIVELY. 

August  i  was  considerably  less.  However,  they  had  produced 
quite  a  satisfactory  crop  by  August  12.  As  already  explained, 
these  plants  did  not  grow  very  well  in  the  coldframe,  on  account 
of  being  allowed  to  become  too  tall  before  being  shifted  to  the 
frame  and  not  being  given  sufficient  room.  Plants  properly  grown 
in  the  coldframe,  and  handled  as  carefully  as  these  were  in  the 
transplanting  to  the  field  would  probably  have  made  a  better  show- 
ing. It  is  interesting  to  note  that  plants  grown  from  seed  planted 
a  month  later  than  this  lot  were  only  eight  days  later  in  ripening 


54  BULLETIN    No.    144  [February, 

the  first  fruit,  and  by  August  12  had  produced  a  slightly  greater 
yield.  The  plants  of  this  last  lot  (No.  7)  were  in  excellent  condi- 
tion when  set  in  the  field,  so  that  altho  small  and  young,  their 
more  thrifty  condition  enabled  them  to  overtake  the  older  plants. 
This  is  another  illustration  of  the  fact  that  the  condition  of  the 
plant  may  be  more  important  than  its  age. 

That  the  differences  in  the  plants  at  the  time  of  setting  in  the 
field  influence  chiefly  the  yields  of  early  fruit  and  have  compara- 
tively little  influence  on  the  later  yields  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
performance  later  in  the  season  of  the  plants  under  consideration. 
In  1908,  the  plants  in  the  different  lots,  which  had  yielded  all  the 
way  from  .25  Ib.  to  5.91  Ib.  of  early  fruit  per  plant,  produced  very 
nearly  the  same  amount  of  late  fruit  per  plant,  the  lowest  yield  of 
late  fruit  being  8.51  Ib.  per  plant  and  the  highest,  9.66  Ib.  In  1909 
the  differences  in  yield  of  late  fruit  were  somewhat  greater,  the 
yields  varying  from  7.77  Ib.  to  11.01  Ib.  per  plant.  Plants  that 
had  produced  a  heavy  crop  of  earfy  fruit  continued  to  produce 
abundantly  until  killed  by  frost.  Also  plants  that  had  produced 
only  a  light  early  crop  on  account  of  securing  a  late  start,  likewise 
produced  heavily  late  in  the  season.  This  indicates  that,  as  grown 
on  the  black  prairie  soils  of  Central  Illinois,  the  tomato  plant  is 
capable  of  continuing  in  bearing  until  killed  by  frost,  regardless 
of  the  time  it  begins.  The  production  of  a  heavy  crop  early  in  the 
season  does  not  impair  its  vigor  enough  to  seriously  affect  the 
yield  of  late  fruits.  This  means  that  all  the  extra  early  fruits  a 
tomato  plant  can  be  made  to  produce  are  practically  clear  gain. 

HOTBEDS 

While  the  ideal  method  of  growing  tomato  plants  involves 
starting  the  seed  in  a  greenhouse  late  in  winter,  most  growers  have 
not  the  advantage  of  greenhouse  facilities,  and  are  therefore 
obliged  to  resort  to  the  use  of  hotbeds.  These  are  of  two  types : 
the  fire,  and  the  manure,  hotbed.  The  former  type  is  better  adapted 
to  starting  the  plants  in  cold  weather,  but  either  type  will  answer 
for  receiving  the  plants  at  the  first  shift. 

CONSTRUCTION  OF  FIRE  HOTBEDS 

The  essential  features  of  a  fire  hotbed  are  a  long  sash-covered 
frame  underlaid  by  two  flues  connected  with  a  fire-pit  at  one 
end  and  chimneys  at  the  other.  An  ideal  location  for  the  hotbed 
is  a  gradual  slope  to  the  south  or  east.  Such  a  location  insures 
full  exposure  to  sunlight,  protection  from  cold  winds,  good  draft 
for  the  flues  and  drainage  for  the  fire-pit.  An  area  six  feet  wide 
and  from  80  to  100  feet  long  is  marked  off  in  such  a  way  that 


I9io] 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 


55 


one  end  of  the  bed  will  be  a  few  feet  higher  than  the  other.  A 
row  of  posts  is  set  along  each  side  of  this  area,  those  on  the  north 
or  west  side  extending  18  inches  above  the  level  of  the  ground 
and  those  on  the  south  or  east  side  12  inches.  These  posts  must 
be  set  about  2.]A  feet  deep  to  prevent  their  being  heaved  out  by 
frost.  The  distance  between  the  posts  will  depend  upon  the  length 
of  lumber  to  be  used  in  making  the  frame.  For  1 6- foot  lumber, 
the  posts  should  be  placed  5  feet  4  inches  apart. 

After  the  posts  are  set,  boards  are  nailed  onto  the  inside  of 
these  rows  of  posts  to  make  the  walls  of  the  bed.  It  is  well  to 
allow  the  boards  to  extend  two  inches  above  the  tops  of  the  posts, 
so  that  the  latter  will  not  interfere  with  the  sash. 

The  dirt  should  be  dug  out  from  between  the  walls  to  within 
three  inches  of  the  posts  on  either  side.  At  the  upper  end  of  the 
bed,  it  is  dug  out  to  a  depth  of  six  inches,  the  depth  gradually 
increasing  until  the  lower  end  of  the  bed  is  reached,  where  it  is 
2~y2  feet.  The  excavation  is  extended  several  feet  beyond  the 


'sf&m&z?////'' 

FlG.    4.      LfONGlTUDINAI,  SECTION  OF  FIRE  HOTBED. 

lower  end  of  the  bed.  This  extension  is  made  one  foot  narrower 
and  il/2  feet  deeper  than  the  bed  proper.  Six  feet  of  the  upper 
part  is  to  be  used  for  the  fire-pit,  the  lower  part  being  dug  out  for 
convenience  in  firing.  The  sides  of  the  pit  are  walled  up  with 
-rock  or  brick  to  a  height  of  two  feet  and  covered  with  broad  flat 
rocks  well  supported  by  iron  bars,  or  the  cover  may  be  entirely  of 
old  boiler  iron. 

From  each  side  of  the  back  of  the  fire-pit,  a  trench  twelve 
inches  deep  and  nine  inches  wide  is  dug  diagonally  toward  the 
side  of  the  bed.  When  within  four  inches  of  the  side  of  the  ex- 
cavation the  direction  is  changed  and  the  trench  cut  parallel  with 
the  side  of  the  bed.  These  trenches  are  covered  closely  with  flat 
stones  to  prevent  dirt  from  filling  them.  The  dirt  which  is  first 
filled  in  over  these  stones  is  well  packed  to  prevent  smoke  from 
going  thru  into  the  dirt  of  the  bed.  Thus,  flues  are  made  which 
conduct  the  heat  and  smoke  under  the  bed  to  the  chimneys  at  the 
upper  end. 


56 


BULLETIN   No.    144 


[February, 


In  localities  where  rock  is  not  easily  obtained,  sewer  tile  4  to  6 
inches  in  diameter  are  sometimes  used  for  flues  in  place  of  the  rock- 
covered  flues  above  described.  In  this  case,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
excavate  the  full  width  of  the  bed,  since  the  tile  can  be  placed  in 
the  bottom  of  trenches  dug  to  the  proper  depth. 

Chimneys  for  the  upper  ends  of  the  flues  are  made  by  nailing 
together  four  ten-inch  boards.  The  board  on  the  side  toward  the 
flue  should  be  a  foot  shorter  than  the  other  three  so  as  to  allow 
an  opening  into  the  chimney. 

As  the  flues  are  finished,  most  of  the  dirt  which  was  dug  out 
is  shoveled  back  into  the  bed,  filling  it  to  the  original  level  or 
perhaps  two  inches  higher.  Boards  are  nailed  across  the  ends  of 


Sash 


V777/ 

FIG.  5.    CROSS-SECTION  OF  FIRE  HOTBED. 

the  bed.  The  fire-pit  is  covered  about  two  feet  deep  and  the  re- 
mainder of  the  dirt  is  banked  against  the  outside  of  the  walls  of 
the  bed.  Additional  dirt  should  be  piled  against  the  walls  to  bank 
them  to  the  top,  for  the  severe  weather  of  February  and  March 
will  make  it  necessary  to  protect  the  plants  as  much  as  possible. 

To  be  in  readiness  for  use  in  the  spring  the  bed  should  be  com- 
pleted in  the  fall,  and  the  soil  put  in  for  growing  the  plants.  This 
should  be  about  four  inches  deep.  Soil  rich  in  humus  and  relatively 
free  from  weed  seeds  is  secured.  This  is  usually  enriched  with 
\vell-rotted  manure  in  the  proportion  of  one  load  of  manure  to  ten 
loads  of  soil.  After  the  soil  is  put  in,  the  bed  is  left  open  to  the 
weather  until  late  in  December,  when  it  is  covered  with  sash  to 
keep  out  rain  and  snow. 


/p/o]  GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET  57 

The  sash  are  supported  by  cross-bars  resting  on  the  walls  of 
the  bed.  Each  cross-bar  is  made  by  nailing  together  two  strips 
of  wood,  one  of  which  is  i"x3"  and  just  long  enough  to  fit  loosely 
between  the  walls  of  the  bed,  and  the  other  is  i"x2"  and  as  long 
as  the  sash,  so  that  the  ends  may  rest  upon  the  sides  of  the  bed. 
These  supporting  strips  afford  a  base  on  which  to  slide  the  sash 
in  opening  the  bed,  and  also  insure  good  connections  between  ad- 
joining sash. 

Early  in  February,  about  a  week  before  the  seeds  are  to  be 
planted,  a  fire  is  started  in  the  pit  in  order  to  warm  the  soil  in  the 
bed  and  put  it  in  condition  for  working.  A  hot  fire  is  required  for 
several  days  to  get  the  bed  into  good  condition  at  this  time  of  the 
year,  but  after  the  soil  has  once  become  warm  much  less  fuel  is 
needed  to  keep  up  sufficient  heat. 

CONSTRUCTION  OF  MANURE  HOTBEDS 

V 

.When  only  a  small  number  of  plants  is  wanted,  it  is  usually 
preferable  to  grow  them  in  a  manure  hotbed,  rather  than  go  to 
the  labor  and  expense  of  constructing  a  fire  hotbed.  A  manure 
hotbed  may  be  made  very  cheaply  by  placing  a  sash-covered  frame 
on  top  of  a  flat  pile  of  fermenting  manure.  However,  such  a  bed 
is  badly  exposed  to  winds,  and  is  less  satisfactory  in  cold  weather 
than  a  bed  made  by  placing  the  frame  above  a  pit  containing  the 
manure.  The  pit  may  be  merely  an  excavation  in  the  ground  or 
may  be  walled  up  with  plank  or  even  brick,  if  a  permanent  bed 
is  desired.  The  bed  must  be  in  a  well  drained  location  if  the  ma- 
nure is  placed  in  a  pit ;  otherwise  water  would  likely  seep  into  the 
pit  and  interfere  with  the  proper  fermentation  of  the  manure. 

The  preparation  of  manure  for  a  hotbed  should  begin  at  least 
three  weeks  before  the  hotbed  is  to  be  used.  Fresh  horse  manure 
from  grain-fed  animals  should  be  placed  in  a  compact  pile.  The 
manure  should  contain  a  fair  amount  of  litter  but  should  not  be 
too  strawy.  If  it  is  rather  dry,  it  should  be  moistened  with  water 
as  it  is  being  piled.  As  soon  as  fermentation  has  become  well 
started,  the  manure  should  be  thoroly  forked  over  and  re-piled. 
Care  should  be  taken  to  break  up  all  lumps  and  place  the  coolest 
manure  from  the  outside  of  the  original  pile  in  the  midst  of  the 
new  pile,  to  insure  uniform  fermentation  of  the  entire  mass.  As 
soon  as  the  whole  pile  is  steaming,  the  manure  may  be  placed  in 
the  pit,  or  in  a  flat  pile  eight  feet  wide  if  the  bed  is  to  be  constructed 
entirely  above  ground.  The  manure  should  be  thoroly  tramped 
as  it  is  being  piled,  and  care  taken  to  have  it  uniformly  compact 
thruout  the  bed,  so  that  it  will  not  settle  unevenly  and  let  the 
soil  sink  away  in  spots  after  the  bed  is  in  operation.  A  good  plan 
is  to  put  the  manure  on  in  layers  about  six  inches  deep,  and  tramp 


58  BULLETIN    No.    144  [February, 

each  layer  thoroly  before  putting  on  the  next.  When  the  bed 
is  completed,  the  manure  should  be  about  two  feet  deep.  If  a  pit 
has  been  used,  the  manure  should  extend  approximately  to  the 
level  of  the  ground. 

As  soon  as  the  manure  has  been  placed  in  the  bed,  the  frame 
and  sash  should  be  put  on  to  protect  the  bed  from  rain  or  snow 
and  help  retain  the  heat.  The  soil  in  which  the  plants  are  to  be 
grown  may  be  placed  in  the  bed  at  this  time  or  a  few  days  later, 
but  in  no  case  should  seeds  be  sown  or  plants  set  until  after  the 
violent  heat  following  the  moving  of  the  manure  has  somewhat 
subsided.  Sometimes  this  violent  heating  does  not  become  evident 
for  three,  four,  or  even  more,  days  after  the  bed  is  made,  and  a  per- 
son is  inclined  to  think  the  bed  is  not  going  to  heat.  It  would  be 
a  serious  mistake  to  plant  the  bed  at  this  juncture,  for  if  the  ma- 
nure is  of  good  quality  and  has  been  properly  handled,  the  violent 
heating  is  sure  to  occur,  and  would  kill  any  seeds  or  plants  in  the 
bed.  Some  persons  favor  putting  in  the  soil  wnen  the  bed  is  first 
made,  for  the  sake  of  killing  the  weed  seed  in  the  soil  by  this  vio- 
lent heating.  After  the  bed  has  heated  up,  and  then  cooled  down 
to  85°  F.  the  tomato  seeds  may  safely  be  sown. 

The  hotbed  frame  should  be  twelve  inches  high  in  front  and 
sixteen  or  eighteen  inches  high  at  the  rear.  It  should  be  six  feet 
wide,  outside  measure,  and  long  enough  to  accommodate  the  num- 
ber of  sash  required;  or  if  a  large  amount  of  hotbed  space  is  re- 
quired, it  is  a  common  practice  to  make  a  series  of  beds  of  four 
sash  each.  Since  a  "3x6"  sash  is  a  little  over  three  feet  wide,  the 
frame  will  need  to  be  over  twelve  feet  long  to  accommodate  four 
sash.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  measure  the  exact  width  of  the  four 
sash  to  be  used,  and  cut  the  lumber  for  the  frame  accordingly.  In 
making  the  back  of  the  frame  avoid  having  a  crack  near  the  top 
of  the  bed.  If  only  a  small  amount  of  hotbed  room  is  needed,  a 
bed  may  be  made  with  only  two,  or  even  one,  sash.  Unless  the 
hotbed  is  of  the  permanent  type,  it  is  advisable  to  have  the  frame 
put  together  with  screws,  so  that  it  may  be  taken  down  at  the 
close  of  the  season  without  splitting  the  lumber.  The  frame  can 
then  be  stored  in  a  small  space  until  needed  the  next  season.  The 
accompanying  diagram  shows  the  arrangement  of  the  different 
parts  of  such  a  frame  made  for  two  sash,  together  with  enlarged 
views  of  the  corners  and  joints. 

With  a  hotbed  frame  made  as  indicated  there  will  be  room  for 
four  inches  of  soil  in  which  to  grow  the  plants,  and  still  leave 
eight  inches  of  space  between  the  soil  and  sash  at  the  front  of  the 
bed.  A  cross-section  of  a  hotbed  of  the  simplest  and  cheapest  type, 
showing  the  location  of  manure,  soil,  and  sash,  is  shown  in  Fig  7. 


/p/o] 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 
6-2" 


59 


4 


O 

i 

V9 


FIG.  6.     DIAGRAM  OF  FRAME  FOR  MANURE  HOTBED. 


Sash 


-Manure 


FIG.  7.    CROSS-SECTION  OF  MANURE  HOTBED. 


60  BULLETIN    No.    144  [February, 

PLANTING  THE  SEED 

The  method  of  preparing  the  soil  in  the  bed  and  planting  the 
seed  is  the  same  whether  a  fire  hotbed  or  a  manure  hotbed  is  used. 
When  the  proper  temperature  has  been  secured,  the  soil  is  leveled 
off  and  worked  down  into  a  fine  seed-bed.  The  time  of  planting 
the  tomato  seed  will  depend  somewhat  upon  the  latitude.  In  the 
extreme  southern  part  of  the  state,  the  seed  is  sown  from  Febru- 
ary 10  to  20.  Farther  north  the  planting  is  done  from  March  i 
to  15.  About  four  seeds  to  the  inch  are  so\vn  in  rows  three  or 
four  inches  apart.  Sowrn  at  these  distances  one  ounce  of  seed  will 
plant  a  little  over  two  sash.  One  ounce  of  seed  is  usually  planted 
for  each  acre  of  tomatoes  to  be  set  in  the  field,  tho  this  allows 
for  considerable  loss  and  the  rejection  of  all  inferior  plants. 

CARE  OF  THE  HOTBED 

After  the  seeds  have  been  planted,  the  hotbed  should  be  closed, 
and  a  thermometer  placed  in  each  end.  A  temperature  of  as  near 
65°  F.  as  possible  should  be  maintained,  tho  no  damage  is  done 
if  for  a  short  time  the  temperature  becomes  as  low  as  50°  F.  or  as 
high  as  90°  F. 

The  plants  come  up  about  a  week  after  the  planting  of  the 
seed,  and  are  allowed  to  grow  in  the  seed-bed  for  two  or  three 
weeks,  or  until  the  second  rough  leaf  appears.  Usually  no  water- 
ing is  necessary  during  this  time,  but  the  ground  between  the  rows 
should  be  stirred  once  a  week. 

Fresh  air  must  be  let  into  the  bed  every  day.  This  is  done  by 
sliding  or  slightly  raising  the  sash.  If  the  weather  will  permit, 
the  bed  is  left  slightly  open  for  several  hours  in  the  middle  of  the 
day.  When  the  weather  is  so  cold  and  windy  that  the  bed  cannot 
be  left  open  for  any  length  of  time  it  is  opened  a  little  for  a  few 
minutes  two  or  three  times  during  the  day.  The  plants  must  not 
be  chilled ;  still  they  should  have  all  the  air  it  is  possible  to  give 
them,  in  order  to  prevent  them  from  damping  off  and  to  make  them 
grow  stocky. 

When  the  weather  becomes  unusually  cold  the  plants  must  have 
more  protection  than  is  afforded  by  the  glass.  The  moisture  which 
collects  ton  the  under  side  of  the  glass  should  never  be  allowed  to 
freeze.  If  freezing  should  occur  the  subsequent  melting  of  the 
ice  would  cause  ice-cold  water  to  -drip  on  the  plants.  Additional 
protection  may  be  provided  by  spreading  over  the  glass  one  or  two 
thicknesses  of  canvass  or  several  inches  of  straw.  This  additional 
covering  should  be  removed  as  soon  as  practicable,  for  keeping  out 
the  light  makes  the  plants  grow  long  and  slender. 


/9/o]  GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET  61 

In  moderate  weather  sufficient  heat  can  be  kept  in  a  fire  hotbed 
if  the  firing  is  attended  to  at  regular  intervals  three  times  a  day. 
At  times  of  severe  weather,  however,  twice  as  much  attention 
must  be  given  to  firing  as  when  the  weather  is  moderate.  Wood 
is  the  fuel  most  commonly  used,  tho  some  fire-pits  are  equipped 
with  a  rude  grate  so  that  coal  can  be  burned  when  wood  is  not 
available. 

SHIFTING  THE  SEEDLINGS 

When  the  plants  are  about  three  weeks  old  they  must  be  shifted 
to  give  them  more  room.  They  are  usually  placed  three  inches 
apart  each  way,  in  another  hotbed.  This  bed  must  be  covered  and 
the  proper  temperature  secured  before  it  is  needed  for  the  plants. 
In  taking  up  the  plants  from  the  seed-bed,  a  flat  stick  or  a  trowel 
is  used  to  lift  them  out,  so  as  to  avoid  injury  to  the  roots.  The 
rows  for  resetting  may  be  marked  off  by  using  a  broad  board  an 
inch  shorter  than  the  bed  is  wide,  to  one  side  of  which  34-inch 
square  strips  have  been  nailed  three  inches  apart  each  way.  The  side 
of  the  board  on  which  the  strips  are  nailed  is  placed  upon  the  soil 
at  the  end  of  the  bed,  is  pressed  down  firmly,  then  lifted  back  to 
where  the  next  marks  are  to  be  made,  and  is  used  for  the  operator 
to  stand  upon  while  setting  plants  in  the  marks  previously  made. 

The  plants  are  usually  set  with  a  dibber  or  sharpened  stick, 
and  are  placed  into  the  ground  up  to  the  seed  leaves.  In  shifting 
the  small  tender  plants  it  is  very  important  that  care  be  taken  to 
avoid  injuring  them  by  rough  handling. 

This  first  shifting  of  the  plants  is  done  early  in  March,  so  that 
severe  weather  often  hinders  the  progress  of  the  work,  for  plants 
must  not  be  exposed  to  cold  when  taken  from  a  warm  hotbed. 
Sometimes  a  sort  of  tent  is  placed  over  the  part  of  the  bed  to  be 
set,  when  it  is  necessary  to  do  the  work  in  unfavorable  weather. 

The  plants  grown  under  one  sash  in  the  seed-bed  will  reset  at 
least  four  sash,  when  only  the  largest,  strongest  plants  are  used. 

After  the  plants  are  set,  the  management  of  the  beds  as  to  ven- 
tilation is  essentially  the  same  as  for  the  seed-bed  except  that  as  the 
weather  becomes  warmer  the  plants  should  be  exposed  more  and 
more.  The  heat  of  a  manure  hotbed  will  gradually  subside  and 
that  of  a  fire  hotbed  should  be  gradually  diminished.  Toward  the 
end  of  the  period  that  the  hotbed  is  needed,  the  fire  is  often  al- 
lowed to  die  out  entirely  during  the  day,  tho  a  small  fire  may 
be  necessary  at  night.  A  little  later  the  fire  is  discontinued  entirely, 
so  that  the'  soil  temperature  will  be  normal  before  the  plants  are 
removed  from  the  hotbed  to  the  coldframe. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  plants  have  been  removed  from 
the  hotbed.  2"x4"  pieces  should  be  nailed  between  the  walls  cross- 


62  BULLETIN   No.    144  [February, 

wise  of  the  bed,  at , intervals  of  six  feet,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
walls  from  warping,  so  that  the  sash  will  fit  the  next  season.  The 
ends  of  the  flues  should  also  be  stopped,  to  keep  out  rabbits  and 
ground-hogs. 

COLDFRAMES 

Coldframes  are  frequently  located  permanently  near  the  hot- 
beds. They  are  also  built  temporarily  along  the  edge  of  the  field 
in  which  the  plants  are  to  be  set,  or  put  near  the  middle  of  the 
field,  then  torn  down  and  removed  as  soon  as  the  plants  have  been 
taken  out. 

CONSTRUCTION  OF  COLDFRAMES 

The  construction  of  a  coldframe  is  similar  to  that  of  a  hotbed 
in  some  respects.  The  same  width  is  desirable,  but  the  frame  may 
be  any  length.  The  walls  are  made  the  same  except  that  the  posts 
do  not  need  to  be  set  so  deeply,  and  the  back  wall  is  a  foot  higher 
than  the  front.  There  is  no  digging  to  be  done  and  no  flues  nor 
furnace  to  be  built.  In  winter,  stable  manure  is  spread  upon  the 
strip  where  the  coldframe  is  to  be  built,  a  load  of  manure  to  three 
rods.  Early  in  spring  a  strip  $l/2  feet  wide  is  plowed  three  or 
four  times  to  mix  the  manure  and  earth,  and  is  left  in  a  ridge  un- 
til needed  for  planting.  The  walls  for  the  coldframe  are  put  up 
along  this  ridge  whenever  time  and  weather  permit.  The  outside 
of  the  walls  are  banked  with  earth  by  digging  a  trench  around  the 
coldframe.  This  also  insures  good  drainage. 

One  inch  below  the  top  on  the  inside  of  the  walls,  blocks  of 
wood  i"x2"x4"  are  nailed  at  intervals  of  4  feet.  These  are  to 
support  the  ends  of  cross-bars  of  i"x2"  stuff  cut  long  enough  to 
fit  tightly  crosswise  of  the  bed  between  the  walls  for  supporting 
the  cover.  For  making  the  cover  two  widths  of  heavy,  unbleached 
muslin  are  sewed  together.  One  edge  of  this  cover  is  nailed  to  the 
top  of  the  upper  wall,  while  the  other  edge  is  fastened  to  a  roller 
made  by  nailing  together  two  i"x2"  strips  of  wood  in  such  a  way 
that  the  strips  break  joints  and  form  a  continuous  roller  as  long 
as  the  bed,  except  in  the  case  of  unusually  long  beds,  when  the 
cover  is  made  in  sections  for  convenience  in  handling.  The  cover 
must  be  of  such  a  width  that  when  put  over  the  coldframe  the 
roller  comes  a  little  beyond  the  top  of  the  lower  wall.  The  weight 
of  the  roller  then  holds  the  cover  in  place. 

SHIFTING  PLANTS  TO  THE  COLDFRAME 

After  the  plants  have  been  in  the  second  hotbed  for  three  or 
four  weeks  they  are  ready  to  be  shifted  into  the  coldframe.  They 
should  be  shifted  before  they  grow  so  large  as  to  become  crowded. 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET  63 

The  soil  of  the  coldframe  is  worked  down  into  good  condition  and 
the  plants  set  at  distances  of  6"x6".  This  gives  sufficient  room  for 
growth  until  time  for  setting  into  the  field.  Set  at  these  distances 
in  the  coldframe  the  plants  for  setting  an  acre  in  the  field  will 
require  a  coldframe  about  90  feet  long. 

MANAGEMENT  OF  COLDFRAMES 

By  the  time  the  plants  are  set  in  the  coldframe,  the  season  has 
advanced  sufficiently  to  permit  the  frame  to  be  left  entirely  open 
a  large  part  of  each  day.  However,  there  are  frequently  days 
when  the  plants  must  be  kept  protected  from  cold  winds,  and 
nights  when  even  additional  covering  must  be  supplied.  On  warm 
windy  days  the  cover  may  be  kept  open  at  the  ends  of  the  bed  in 
order  to  admit  air  freely  and  still  protect  the  plants  from  me- 
chanical injury  by  the  wind.  The  grower  should  be  very  cautious 
about  leaving  the  cover  off  at  night,  for  a  sudden  change  in  tem- 
perature, which  is  common  at  that  season  of  the  year,  might  do 
irreparable  damage.  When  there  is  danger  of  a  freeze,  straw 
should  be  placed  on  the  cover  to  a  depth  of  4  or  5  inches.  Another 
cover  is  often  placed  on  top  of  the  straw.  The  plants  will  prob- 
ably need  some  watering  while  in  the  coldframe,  but  only  enough 
to  prevent  wilting  and  to  keep  them  growing. 

HARDENING-OFF  THE  PLANTS 

Tomato  plants  that  have  been  grown  under  the  protection  of  a 
hotbed  and  coldframe  are  likely  to  suffer  severely  when  trans- 
planted to  the  field  unless  they  have  been  gradually  inured  to  out- 
side conditions.  To  prepare  the  plants  for  withstanding  the  trans- 
fer to  the  field  without  suffering  a  sudden  check  in  growth,  they 
must  be  gradually  accustomed  to  winds  and  night  temperatures 
while  they  are  still  in  the  coldframe.  Beginning  about  two  weeks 
before  the  time  for  setting  the  plants  in  the  field  the  frame  is  left 
uncovered  later  each  evening  and  is  adjusted  so  as  to  let  in  a  little 
air  even  at  night.  Finally  on  pleasant  nights  the  cover  is  left  off 
entirely.  The  plants  should  be  thus  exposed  for  several  nights 
before  they  are  set  in  the  field.  This  treatment  causes  them  to 
make  a  slow,  woody  growth,  so  that  they  do  not  wilt  badly  when 
transplanted.  It  also  prepares  them  to  stand  the  ordinary  night 
temperature  in  the  field  at  the  normal  season  for  transplanting. 

TRANSPLANTING  TO  THE  FIELD 

In  Southern  Illinois  a  few  tomato  plants  are  usually  set  in  the 
field  the  latter  part  of  April,  but  these  nearly  always  suffer  more 


61  BULLETIN    No.    144  [February, 

or  less  from  cold  weather  early  in  May,  and  it  is  often  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  to  prevent  their  being  killed  by  frost.  About  May 
10  is  the  earliest  date  at  which  it  is  safe  to  set  tomatoes  even  in 
Southern  Illinois.  The  plants  are  at  that  time  ten  to  twelve  weeks 
old,  and  should  be  8  to  10  inches  high,  with  a  stem  somewhat 
larger  than  a  lead  pencil,  and  covered  with  dark  green  foliage. 
Flower  buds  will  be  numerous  and  some  blossoms  will  probably 
be  open. 

The  plants  are  usually  set  4  by  5  feet  apart,  or  4l/2  by  4^2  feet. 
At  the  first  distance  named,  2,178  plants  are  required  to  set  an 
acre,  and  at  the  latter  distance,  2,151  are  required.  Dwarf  varie- 
ties may  be  set  closer. 

In  preparing  a  field  for  tomatoes,  the  land  is  plowed  early  in 
the  spring,  and  worked  occasionally  until  time  for  planting.     Im- 


FIG.  8.    FIELD  OF  EARLY  TOMATOES,  UNION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

mediately  before  planting  it  is  thoroly  pulverized  and  furrowed 
out  for  the  reception  of  the  plants.  Furrows  are  first  made  cross- 
wise the  field,  with  a  one-horse  turning  plow  or  a  single-shovel 
plow.  Then  when  everything  is  in  readiness  to  start  the  planting, 
the  furrows  are  made  in  the  other  direction  only  as  fast  as  needed, 
so  that  the  plants  may  be  set  in  freshly  turned  soil.  If  the  plants 
are  to  be  fertilized  in  the  hill,  the  application  is  made  at  this  time. 

A  few  hours  before  the  planting  is  to  begin,  the  soil  in  the 
coklframe  containing  the  plants  should  be  saturated  with  water 
and  should  be  kept  wet  as  the  planting  proceeds. 

The  plants  are  removed  from  the  cold  frame  by  cutting  around 
each  plant  with  a  spade,  then  pushing  the  spade  under  the  cube  of 
dirt  containing  the  plant,  and  lifting  it  onto  a  wragon.  Thus  a 


1910]  GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET  65 

six-inch  cube  of  dirt  is  taken  up  with  each  plant.  The  spade  is 
unloaded  by  resting  it  upon  the  wagon  and  pushing  the  cube  of 
dirt  off  with  the  hands.  A  low  wagon  with  a  long  platform  is 
very  convenient  for  this  work.  Bolster  springs  are  also  of  value 
at  this  time  to  lessen  the  jolting  which  tends  to  shake  the  dirt 
from  the  roots  of  the  plants. 

The  plants  are  hauled  to  the  field  on  the  wagon  and  from  it 
they  are  lifted  by  hand  and  placed  in  the  furrows.  Dirt  is  hilled 
up  about  the  plants  with  hoes,  that  which  is  first  drawn  in  being 
well  firmed.  The  plants  should  be  set  deep  enough  to  stand  erect, 
and  should  be  cultivated  immediately  after  setting. 

FERTILIZING 

In  addition  to  being  large  and  healthy  at  the  time  of  setting 
in  the  field,  a  tomato  plant  must  be  well  supplied  with  plant  food 
if  it  is  to  produce  an  abundant  crop  of  early  fruits.  Some  soils 
are  rich  enough  to  produce  a  good  crop  without  the  addition  of 
fertilizing  materials,  but  many  soils  on  which  tomatoes  are  grown 
commercially  require  the  addition  of  plant  food.  Various  mate- 
rials are  used  and  are  applied  sometimes  broadcast  and  sometimes 
in  the  hill.  For  the  purpose  of  securing  information  regarding 
the  influence  of  different  fertilizers  and  methods  of  application 
upon  the  yield  of  early  tomatoes  in  Southern  Illinois,  experiments 
have  been  conducted  in  Union  county  the  past  four  years. 

The  soil  upon  which  the  experiments  were  made  was  the  typ- 
ical clay  soil  of  the  region.  Commercial  growers  in  that  locality 
do  not  attempt  to  grow  tomatoes  without  adding  fertilizer  of 
some  kind  before  setting  the  plants. 

Plats  consisting  of  20  plants  each  (except  in  1906,  when  there 
were  40  plants  in  each  plat)  were  treated  as  follows: 

Plat  14.  Commercial  fertilizer  in  hills 

15.  Manure  in  hills 

16.  Manure  and  steamed  bone  in  hills 

17.  Manure  and  rock  phosphate  in  hills 

18.  Check.     No  fertilizer  or  manure 

19.  Steamed  bone  in  hills 

20.  Home-mixed  fertilizer  in  hills 

21.  "Castoria"  in  hills 

22.  "Castoria"  in  hills,   air-slaked  lime  broadcast 

23.  Home-mixed  fertilizer  broadcast 

24.  Manure  broadcast 

25.  Manure  and  steamed  bone  broadcast 

26.  Manure  and  rock  phosphate  broadcast. 

The  commercial  fertilizer  applied  to  Plat  14,  known  locally  as 
"Phosphate,"  was  the  brand  of  fertilizer  used  by  most  of  the  to- 
mato growers  of  that  locality.  The  guaranteed  analysis  of  this 


66  BULLETIN    No.    144  [February, 

fertilizer  was:  Nitrogen,  1.64% ;  Phosphoric  acid  (available), 
3.49%;  Potassium,  5.81%.  The  same  kind  of  manure  was  used 
both  broadcast  and  in  the  hills,  and  in  all  cases  was  fairly  well 
rotted.  The  "Castoria"  applied  to  Plats  21  and  22  was  castor 
bean  pomace,  a  by-product  of  castor  oil  mills.  The  home-mixed 
fertilizer  applied  to  Plats  20  and  23  consisted  of  2  parts  dried 
blood,  2  parts  steamed  bone  meal  and  I  part  potassium  sulfate. 

With  the  exception  of  the  manure,  each  material  was  used  at 
the  same  rate  whether  applied  broadcast  or  in  the  hills.  In  1906, 
the  commercial  fertilizer,  steamed  bone,  rock  phosphate  and  home- 
mixed  fertilizer  were  used  at  the  rate  of  *4  pound  per  plant,  or 
10  pounds  per  plat.  The  "Castoria"  was  used  at  double  this  rate, 
or  l/2  pound  per  plant.  Fifty  pounds  of  lime  were  used  on  Plat 
22.  Where  manure  was  applied  to  the  hills,  about  one-fourth 
scoop-shovelful  was  put  in  each  hill.  This  amounted  to  a  little 
over  three  tons  per  acre.  The  manure  applied  broadcast  was  used 
at  the  rate  of  about  ten  tons  per  acre,  whether  used  alone  or  in 
combination  with  other  materials. 

In  1907,  the  various  materials  were  applied  at  the  same  rate 
per  plant  as  in  1906.  In  1908,  the  quantities  of  all  materials  ex- 
cept the  manure  were  doubled,  but  in  1909  they  were  again  used  at 
the  same  rate  as  in  1906  and  1907,  with  the  exception  of  the  lime 
which  was  used  at  the  same  rate  as  in  1908.  The  quantity  of  ma- 
nure applied  broadcast  was  reduced  in  1909  to  an  amount  equal 
to  that  applied  in  the  hills. 

The  tests  were  made  in  a  different  field  each  year,  on  soil  that 
had  not  recently  been  fertilized,  so  that  there  was  no  cumulative 
effect  of  the  fertilizers  as  might  have  been  the  case  if  the  tests  had 
been  made  on  the  same  plot  of  ground  year  after  year.  So  far  as 
these  experiments  are  concerned,  the  effect  of  the  fertilizers  upon 
crop  yields  could  appear  only  the  year  the  applications  were  made, 
for  the  same  land  was  not  used  twice  during  the  experiments. 
This  is  in  accordance  with  the  usual  method  of  fertilizing  for 
truck  crops.  The  fertilizer  is  applied  for  its  benefit  to  the  crop 
that  one  season,  rather  than  for  its  ultimate  effect  upon  the  fertil- 
ity of  the  land. 

Each  year,  all  plats  were  treated  alike  in  reference  to  tillage  and 
other  care,  so  that  any  differences  in  yield  or  earliness  would  be 
attributable  to  differences  in  fertilizer  treatment.  The  fruit  was 
picked  from  three  to  four  times  per  week,  as  is  the  practice  in 
gathering  the  crop  for  shipment.  Careful  records  were  kept  re- 
garding the  number  and  weight  of  fruits  from  each  plat  at  each 
picking.  The  fruit  was  also  sorted  into  marketable  and  unmarket- 
able grades.  The  different  fertilizer  treatments  did  not  materially 
influence  the  size  or  grade  of  the  fruits.  The  yield  and  earliness, 
however,  were  influenced  to  considerable  extent. 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 


67 


INFLUENCE  OF  FERTILIZER  UPON  EARUNESS  OF  RIPENING 

The  date  when  the  first  tomatoes  were  picked  varied  with  the 
earliness  or  lateness  of  the  season,  from  June  24  to  July  10. 
About  two  weeks  after  picking  begins  there  is  usually  a  sudden 
drop  in  prices,  for  the  price  depends  largely  upon  the  supply.  The 
yield  of  marketable  tomatoes  up  to  the  time  of  this  drop  may  be 
considered  as  the  true  index  of  the  earliness  of  the  crop.  The 
yields  during  this  period  for  each  season,  are  given  in  Table  3. 
For  the  sake  of  uniformity,  the  yields  are  expressed  in  terms  of 
pounds  per  plant. 

TABI,E  3. — YIELDS  OF  E}ARLY  TOMATOES  IN  POUNDS  OF  MARKETABLE  FRUIT 

PER  PLANT 


Plat 

Treatment 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

14 

Commercial  fertilizer  in  hilla  

.49 

1.35 

1  30 

33 

86 

15 

.27 

1  50 

.68 

27 

68 

16 

Manure  and  bone  in  hills  

.30 

2  75 

1  53 

22 

1  20 

17 
18 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  in  hills  .  . 

.46 
.18 

1.54 
1.70 

.73 
.34 

.26 
.39 

.74 
65 

19 

.26 

2.09 

1  63 

67" 

1  16 

20 

Home-mixed  fertilizer  in,  hills  

.45 

2  24 

1.70 

66 

1  26 

21 

"Castoria''  in  hills  

.18 

1  78 

1.36 

56 

97 

22 

23 

"Castoria"  in  hills,  lime  broadcast  
Home-mixed  fertilizer  broadcast  

.36 
.95 

2.14 
2.20 

1.10 

2.25 

.48 
.60 

1.02 
1  50- 

24 

Manure  broadcast  

.12 

1.93 

.43 

.46 

.73 

25 

.26 

1.93 

1  48 

43 

1  02 

26 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  broadcast 

.15 

1.75 

1.35 

.35 

.90 

These  figures  show  that  the  highest  average  yield  of  this  extra 
early  fruit  was  produced  by  the  home-mixed  fertilizer  applied 
broadcast,  and  that  the  second  highest  average  yield  was  produced 
by  the  same  material  used  in  the  hills.  Manure  used  alone  either 
broadcast  or  in  the  hills  produced  but  slightly  better  results  on  the 
average  than  were  secured  where  no  treatment  whatever  was  given. 
However,  where  steamed  bone  was  used  with  the  manure,  the 
average  yields  were  much  better.  Used  alone  in  the  hills,  the 
bone  gave  almost  as  good  results  as  the  combination  of  bone  and 
manure  in  the  hills,  and  better  results  than  this  material  applied 
broadcast.  "Castoria"  in  the  hills  with  lime  applied  broadcast, 
gave  the  same  average  yield  as  manure  and  bone  broadcast.  The 
commercial  fertilizer  commonly  used  in  the  locality  did  not  pro- 
duce nearly  so  good  average  yields  of  these  extra  early  tomatoes 
as  did  the  home-mixed  fertilizer,  or  the  bone  either  alone  or  in 
combination  with  manure. 


68 


BULLETIN   No.    144 


[February, 


INFLUENCE  OE  FERTILIZER  UPON  TOTAL,  YIELD  OE  MARKETABLE 

TOMATOES 

The  yields  for  the  entire  shipping  season  are  given  in  Table  4. 
In  most  cases  these  yields  do  not  represent  the  actual  total  yields 
of  the  plants,  for  under  normal  conditions  the  plants  continue 
bearing  long  after  the  close  of  the  shipping  season.  The  shipping 
season  for  tomatoes  in  Southern  Illinois  is  determined  by  market 
conditions  rather  than  the  condition  of  the  plants,  so  that  al- 
tho  the  figures  given  below  do  not  represent  the  actual  yields, 
they  do  represent  the  total  yields  from  a  commercial  standpoint. 
Only  tomatoes  suitable  for  shipment,  produced  during  the  normal 
shipping  season,  are  considered  in  this  table.  Again  the  yields  are 
expressed  in  terms  of  pounds  per  plant. 

TABLE  4 TOTAL  YIELDS  OK  MARKETABLE  TOMATOES  IN  POUNDS  PER  PLANT 


Plat 

Treatment 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

14 

Commercial  fertilizer  in  hills  

2.27 

4.95 

3  71 

2  62 

3  38 

15 

Manure  in  hills  .  .      

2.40 

4.24 

3  71 

1  75 

3  02 

16 

Manure  and  bone  in  hills  

1  08 

6  43 

3  72 

1  87 

3  27 

17 
18 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  in  hills.  .  . 
Check.     No  fertilizer  

3.20 
.50 

4.94 
5.16 

3.83 
3.32 

1.63 
1.77 

3.40 
2  68 

19 

.64 

5.82 

3.46 

2.84 

3  19 

20 

2.63 

6.11 

4.10 

2.79 

3  90 

21 

"Castoria"  in  hills  

2.92 

5.81 

3  67 

2  39 

3  69 

22 
23 
24 

"Castoria"  in  hills  and  lime  broadcast 
Home-mixed  fertilizer  broadcast  
Manure  broadcast  

1.84 
1.86 
1.00 

6.47 
6.55 
6.15 

4.25 
4.24 
3.79 

2.89 
2.67 
1.70 

3.86 
3.83 
3.16 

25 

Manure  and  bone  broadcast  

1.12 

5.70 

5.38 

1.89 

3.52 

26 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  broadcast 

1.10 

6.49 

5.68 

1.63 

3.72 

These  figures  show  that  in  average  total  yield  of  marketable 
tomatoes  all  the  fertilizer  treatments  showed  a  decided  increase 
over  the  yield  of  the  check  plat  which  received  no  fertilizer,  even 
though  in  some  years  some  of  the  treatments  seemed  to  decrease 
the  yield.  The  home-mixed  fertilizer  applied  to  the  hills  produced 
the  highest  average  yield,  and  the  yield  from  the  same  material 
applied  broadcast  was  only  slightly  less.  The  only  other  treat- 
ment that  gave  an  average  yield  as  good  as  either  of  these  was 
"Castoria"  in  the  hills  in  conjunction  with  lime  applied  broadcast. 
The  benefit  of  the  lime  was  shown  by  the  greater  yield  from  this 
treatment  than  from  the  use  of  "Castoria"  alone.  Whether  or  not 
lime  would  have  had  a  similar  effect  if  used  in  connection  with  the 
other  fertilizers  was  not  determined. 

It  is  worthy  of  special  notice  that  some  of  the  fertilizer  treat- 
ments which  did  not  produce  good  yields  of  extra  early  fruits  gave 
relatively  hi.eh  total  yields  during  the  shipping  season.  This  is 
true  of  the  manure  and  rock  phosphate,  especially  when  applied 
broadcast,  tho  when  used  in  the  hills  it  also  made  a  much  better 
showing  for  the  whole  season  than  for  the  early  part  of  the  sea- 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET  69 

son.  On  the  other  hand,  the  influence  of  the  bone,  whether  used 
alone  or  with  manure,  was  much  less  marked  on  total  yields  than 
on  early  yields. 

In  regard  to  the  influence  of  the  method  of  application  of  the 
fertilizer  upon  the  yields,  there  seems  to  be  no  uniformity  from 
year  to  year.  However,  if  the  average  yields  are  considered,  the 
results  seem  to  indicate  an  advantage  in  favor  of  the  broadcast 
applications,  tho  it  is  true  that  in  the  case  of  manure  alone  or 
in  combination,  larger  quantities  were  used  broadcast  than  in  the 
hills,  except  the  last  year,  so  that  the  increase  may  have  been  due 
to  the  difference  in  quantity  rather  than  the  difference  in  method 
of  application.  This  interpretation  of  the  results  is  supported  by 
the  fact  that  when  equal  quantities  were  used  (in  1909)  the  yields 
were  practically  the  same  for  both  methods  of  application.  With 
the  home-mixed  fertilizer,  the  same  quantities  were  used  in  both 
methods  of  application  thruout  the  experiment,  and  there  was 
little  difference  in  the  average  total  yields,  tho  the  broadcast 
application  gave  decidedly  the  better  average  early  yields.  This 
striking  difference  in  average  early  yields  is  due  quite  largely  to 
the  marked  difference  in  yields  the  year  large  quantities  of  the  fer- 
tilizer were  used. 

The  poorest  average  yield  for  any  of  the  fertilizer  treatments 
was  produced  by  the  manure  applied  to  the  hills,  and  the  next  poor- 
est by  the  same  material  applied  broadcast.  Thus  the  manure  gave 
the  poorest  results  in  reference  to  both  early  yields  and  total  yields. 
This  indicates  that,  under  the  conditions  of  these  experiments,  the 
application  of  manure  alone,  immediately  before  planting  tomatoes, 
is  not  conducive  to  the  production  of  early  or  large  yields,  and 
suggests  that  if  manure  is  employed  for  tomatoes  it  might  better 
be  applied  to  the  preceding  crop.  On  other  soils  the  results  might 
be  entirely  different,  and  it  is  true  that  enormous  yields  of  to- 
matoes are  sometimes  produced  on  rich  garden  soils  that  have  been 
heavily  manured  every  year  thru  a  series  of  years. 

On  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that,  under  the  conditions  of  these 
experiments,  the  home-mixed  fertilizer  seems  most  capable  of  pro- 
ducing consistent  yields  of  both  early  and  late  fruits,  and  that,  so 
far  as  yields  are  concerned,  there  seems  to  be  little  choice  between 
the  two  methods  of  applying  this  material,  except  where  excessive 
quantities  are  to  be  used.  In  this  case,  broadcasting  would  be 
preferable  to  applying  the  fertilizer  in  the  hills.  The  convenience 
of  making  the  application  should  also  be  considered.  If  fertilizer 
is  applied  to  the  hills,  the  work  must  be  done  by  hand, .  after  the 
land  is  furrowed  out  and  before  the  plants  are  set.  The  fertilizer 
is  usually  scattered  over  about  a  square  foot  of  space  in  the  bottom 
of  the  furrow,  and  the  block  of  soil  containing  the  plant  is  placed 
in  immediate  contact  with  the  fertilizer.  In  making  broadcast 
applications,  the  material  may  be  applied  either  by  hand  or  with  a 


70 


BULLETIN    No.    144 


[February, 


drill,  and  then  mixed  with  the  soil  by  the  disking  and  harrowing 
employed  preparatory  to  furrowing  out  the  land  for  the  reception 
of  the  plants. 

In  the  above  discussion  regarding  the  relative  merits  of  the 
different  fertilizer  treatments,  only  absolute  yields  have  been  con- 
sidered, and  no  reference  has  been  made  to  the  relative  cost  of  the 
increased  yields  due  to  the  use  of  the  different  fertilizers.  For  the 
sake  of  comparing  the  different  treatments  on  this  basis,  Table  5 
is  introduced.  In  this  table,  all  figures  are  given  on  the  acre  basis; 
and  represent  the  averages  for  the  four  years.  The  average  in- 
crease in  yield  for  each  plat  over  the  yield  of  the  check  plat  is 
given  in  column  I.  These  yields  are  expressed  in  crates  per  acre. 
Column  2  gives  the  average  cost  of  each  fertilizer  treatment  per 
acre.  Column  3  gives  the  average  cost  per  crate  of  increase,  and 
is  derived  by  dividing  the  cost  of  the  fertilizer  treatment  per  acre 
by  the  number  of  crates  increase.  The  figures  in  column  4  repre- 
sent the  relative  net  profits  per  acre  from  the  use  of  the  fertilizer. 
For  the  sake  of  this  comparison,  an  arbitrary  value  of  40  cents  per 
crate  for  the  tomatoes  has  been  assumed.  This  figure  was  chosen 
because  it  is  an  approximate  average  price  for  early  tomatoes  from 
Southern  Illinois,  but  any  other  price  could  have  been  used  and 
the  net  profits  would  have  stood  in  the  same  relation  to  each  other. 
The  figures  in  column  4  were  derived  by  subtracting  the  cost  per 
crate  of  increase  from  the  value  per  crate  and  multiplying  the  re- 
mainder (which  represents  the  profit  per  crate)  by  the  number  of 
crates  increase.  The  figures  in  this  last  column,  then,  represent 
the  profit  from  the  use  of  the  fertilizer — not  the  net  profit  from 
the  entire  crop,  for  the  average  yield  from  the  check  plat  was  326 
crates  per  acre,  and  the  figures  given  in  column  i  represent  the 
number  of  crates  increase  over  the  yield  of  the  check  plat  due  to 
the  fertilizer  treatment. 

TABLE  5. — PROFITS  PER  ACRE,  DUE  TO  THE  USE  OF  FERTILIZER 


Plat 

Treatment 

Ave.    num- 
ber of 
crates  in- 
crease over 
check 

Averajre 

cost  of 
fertil- 
izer 

Average 
cost  per 
crate 
increase 

Net 
profit 

14 

Commercial  fertilizer  in  hills   .... 

74 

$  8.91 

$     120 

$^0   72 

15 

30 

5.51 

183 

6  51 

16 

Manure  and.  bone  in  hills  

72 

15.50 

.215 

13  32 

17 
18 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  in  hills.  .  . 
Check.     No  fertilizer   

89 
0 

8.31 
0 

.093 

o 

27.32 
0 

19 

Bone  in  hills  

48 

9.98 

.208 

9.22 

20 

Home-mixed  fertilizer  in  hills  

139 

15.76 

.113 

39  89 

21 

"Castoria'  '  in  hills  

114 

14.26 

125 

31  35 

22 
23 

"Castoria"  in  hills  and  lime  broadcast 
Home-mixed  fertilizer  broadcast   

136 
133 

35.65 
15  76 

.262 
118 

18.77 
37  51 

24 

Manure  broadcast  

58 

12.45 

.214 

10  79 

25 

Manure  and  bone  broadcast  

94 

24.93 

.265 

12  69 

26 

Manure  and  rock  phosphate  broadcast 

122 

15.30 

.125 

33.55 

/p/o]  GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET  71 

Column  4  in  the  above  table  gives  a  comparison  of  the  profits 
based  not  only  on  the  increase  in  yield  but  also  on  the  cost  of  the 
increase.  Some  treatments  which  gave  comparatively  small  in- 
crease did  so  at  such  a  small  cost  per  crate  that  the  net  profits  rank 
fairly  well.  Such  a  result  is  illustrated  by  Plat  17.  Other  treat- 
ments gave  a  large  increase,  but  at  such  an  expense  per  crate  that 
the  net  profits  are  comparatively  low.  A  marked  example  of  such 
a  treatment  is  shown  by  Plat  22.  The  treatments  applied  to  Plats 
21  and  26,  respectively,  gave  large  increases  at  a  moderate  cost 
per  crate,  and  so  gave  good  net  returns.  The  treatments  applied 
to  Plats  20  and  23  gave  even  greater  yields  than  Plats  21  and  26, 
and  at  a  lower  cost  per  unit  of  increase.  Thus,  the  net  profits  as 
shown  in  column  4  are  markedly  above  those  for  any  other  treat- 
ment. The  initial  cost  of  the  fertilizer  given  Plats  20  and  23  as 
shown  in  column  2,  was  more  than  that  for  most  of  the  other 
treatments.  Nevertheless  the  net  profits,  which  are  the  real  basis 
for  comparison,  show  clearly  that  the  home-mixed  fertilizer  was 
the  most  profitable  treatment  used. 

PRUNING  AND  TRAINING 

Experiments  in  the  pruning  and  training  of  tomatoes  have  been 
conducted  in  Union  county  and  also  at  Urbana.  In  Union  county 
the  conditions  under  which  these  tests  were  made  were  the  same 
as  for  the  fertilizer  experiments  excepting  that  all  the  plats  in  the 
pruning  and  training  experiment  were  fertilized  alike.  At  Urbana 
the  plants  were  grown  without  the  use  of  fertilizer  of  any  kind. 
The  different  methods  of  pruning  and  training  employed  were 
as  follows : 

Plat  7.     Pruned   to    single    stems   and   topped   after   setting   three    clusters 
of  fruit 

8.  Pruned  to  single  stems ;    not  topped 

9.  Pruned  to  single  stems  early  in  the  season,  then  allowed  to  branch 
10.     Pruned  to  two  stems 

n.     Pruned  to  three  stems 

12.  Tied  to  stakes,  but  not  pruned 

13.  Neither  staked  nor  pruned. 

In  the  pruning,  the  branches  to  be  removed  were  cut  close  to 
the  main  stem,  care  being  taken  to  avoid  injuring  the  leaf  below 
the  branch.  The  branches  were  removed  while  small.  The  train- 
ing consisted  in  tying  the  plants  to  stakes.  All  plats  except  No.  13 
were  treated  alike  in  this  respect.  A  stake  1^2  to  2  inches  square 
and  about  five  feet  long  was  driven  into  the  ground  close  to  each 
plant.  To  this  the  plant  was  tied  with  soft  twine.  The  first  tying 
was  done  when  the  plants  were  about  18  inches  high  and  before 
they  fell  over  of  their  own  weight.  Three  tyings  in  a  season  were 


BULLETIN  No.   144 


[February, 


usually  sufficient  to  keep  the  plants  properly  supported,  th'o  some- 
times four  tyings  were  necessary. 


FIG.    9.      TOMATO    PLANT 
PRUNED  TO  A  SINGLE;  STEM. 


FIG.  10.  TOMATO  PLANT  SUPPORTED  BY 
A  SINGLE  STAKE. 


INFLUENCE  OF  PRUNING  UPON  EARUNESS  OF  RIPENING 

The  date  of  ripening  of  the  first  specimen  of  marketable  fruit 
on  each  plat  for  each  season  is  given  in  Table  6  for  the  Union 
county  experiment  and  in  Table  7  for  the  tests  at  Urbana. 

TABLE  6.— DATE  OF  RIPENING  off  FIRST  MARKETABLE  TOMATO  FROM  EACH 

PLAT,  UNION  COUNTY 


Plat 


Treatment 


1906 


1907 


1908 


1909 


7 
8 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 


Pruned  to  single  stem;  topped 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  not  topped. 
Pruned  to  single  stem  early; 

then  branched   

Pruned  to  two  stems ,  f 

Pruned  to  three  stems. . . .  ^ 

Staked  but  not  pruned 

Neither  staked  nor  pruned 


July  7 

7 


7 
7 

7 

7 

IS 


July   13  July  4 
13 

13 

20  4 

10 

10  4 

17 


June  24 
28 


28 
26 
30 
26 
26 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FCR  EARLY  MARKET 


TABLE  7.  — DATE  OF  RIPENING  OF  FIRST  MARKETABLE  TOMATO  FROM  EACH 

PLAT,  URBANA 


Plat 

Treatment 

1907 

1908 

1909 

7 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  lopped   

July  30 

July  21 

June  28 

8 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  not  topped.  

"       30 

11 

July    2 

9 

10 

Pruned  to  single  stem  early;  then  branched 
Pruned  to  two  stems  

Aug.   8 

"        2 

11 
11 

"     10 

"     13 

11 

Pruned  to  three  stems  

"         2 

11 

'•     10 

12 

Staked  but  not  pruned  

July  30 

15 

"     15 

13 

Neither  staked  nor  pruned  

"       27 

15 

"     15 

These  tables  show  that  the  plants  pruned  to  single  stems  some- 
times ripened  their  first  specimen  earlier  than  the  unpruned  plants, 
but  that  in  other  cases  the  reverse  was  true.  In  general  there  was 
no  uniform  relation  between  the  severity  of  the  pruning  and  the 
date  of  ripening  of  the  earliest  fruit. 

A  truer  basis  of  comparison  between  the  different  plats  is  that 
already  used  in  comparing  the  different  plats  in  the  fertilizer  ex- 
periment ;  namely,  the  amount  of  early  fruit  produced  while  prices 
were  high.  The  yields  of  early  tomatoes  determined  on  this  basis 
are  given  in  the  following  tables : 


TABLE  8. — YIELDS  OK   EARLY   TOMATOES  IN  POUNDS  MARKETABLE   FRUIT 
PER  PLANT,  UNION  COUNTY 


Plat 

Treatment 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

7 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  topped  

.64 

.66 

.65 

.41 

.59 

8 
9 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  not  topped.  .  . 
Pruned    to   single    stem   early;    then 
branched.              ,  .... 

.63 
.69 

1.00 
.99 

.70 
.64 

.38 
.59 

.67 

.72 

10 

.90 

.73 

1.34 

.40 

.84 

11 

Pruned  to  three  stems     

.50 

1.73 

1.13 

.56 

.98 

12 

Staked  but  not  pruned  

.49 

1.50 

1.33 

.41 

.94 

13 

Neither  staked  nor  pruned  

.07 

1.31 

1.29 

.33 

.79 

TABLE  9.— YIELDS  OF   EARLY  TOMATOES  IN<  POUNDS   MARKETABLE  FRUIT 
PER  PLANT,  URBANA 


Plat 

Treatment 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

7 

.93 

2  20 

2  53 

1.88 

8 
9 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  not  topped  
Pruned   to   single    stem    early;    then 
branched    -  .              

1.26 
1.05 

2.02 
2.72 

2.85 
5.10 

2.04 
2.95 

10 

1.22 

3.85 

5  07 

3.38 

11 

1.37 

4  63 

5.80 

3.93 

12 

Staked  but  not  pruned  

1.19 

4.75 

8.51 

4.81 

13 

Neither  staked  nor  pruned  

1.30 

5.75 

8.36 

5.13 

74 


BULLETIN    No.    144 


[February, 


These  tables  show  that  in  every  instance  the  plants  pruned  to 
single  stems  produced  low  yields  of  early  tomatoes,  and  that,  on  the 
average,  these  yields  were  much  lower  than  those  from  plants  less 
severely  pruned  or  left  unpruned.  In  Union  county  the  plants 
pruned  to  three  stems  gave  slightly  higher  yields,  on  the  average, 
than  those  not  pruned.  At  Urbana,  however,  the  plants  not 
pruned,  showed  a  decided  increase  in  average  yield  over  all  others. 
Another  difference  in  the  yields  of  early  tomatoes,  also  apparently 
due  to  differences  in  local  conditions,  was  that  in  every  instance 
the  plants  which  were  staked  but  not  pruned  yielded  in  Union 
county  more  than  those  not  staked,  while  at  Urbana,  the  unstaked 
plants  gave  the  higher  average  yields. 


OF  PRUNING  AND  TRAINING  ON  TOTAL  YIELD  OF 
MARKETABLE  FRUIT 

When  the  total  yields  of  marketable  fruit  are  considered,  the 
differences  due  to  different  treatment  in  reference  to  pruning  and 
training  are  even  more  marked  than  when  only  the  early  fruit  was 
considered.  The  yields  for  the  Union  county  experiment  are  given 
in  Table  10,  and  include  only  salable  tomatoes  which  ripened  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  shipping  season,  since  these  represent  the  en- 
tire product  which  could  be  marketed. 

TABLE  10.  —TOTAL  YIELDS  OP  MARKETABLE  TOMATOES  IN  POUNDS  PER  PLANT, 

UNION  COUNTY 


Plat 

Treatment 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

7 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  topped  

1.20 

1.10 

1.14 

.88 

1.08 

8 
9 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  not  topped   .  . 
Pruned    to    single    stem    early;    then 
branched    

1.95 
3.20 

2.49 
3.84 

1.78 

2.87 

1.08 
1  50 

1.82 

2  85 

10 

2.26 

1.90 

3.66 

1.45 

2.31 

li 

Pruned  to  three  stems  

1.07 

3.16 

3.58 

2.06 

2.46 

12 

Staked  but  not  pruned   .        

2.27 

4.47 

4.58 

2.20 

3.38 

13 

Neither  staked  nor  pruned   

.94 

4.05 

3.00 

2.20 

2.62 

The  total  yields  at  Urbana  are  given  in  Table  IT.  These  yields 
include  all  salable  tomatoes  which  ripened  before  frost.  The  late 
fruit  was  in  demand  at  fair  prices  on  the  local  market.  In  addi- 
tion to  producing  a  good  crop  of  early  fruits,  the  plants  remained 
healthy  and  continued  to  bear  heavily  during  the  early  autumn. 
Thus  the  yields  were  much  greater  than  those  obtained  during  the 
shipping  season  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state. 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 


TABLE  11.— TOTAL  YIELDS  OF  MARKETABLE  TOMATOES  IN  POUNDS  PER  PLANT, 

URBANA 


Plat 

Treatment 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

7 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  topped  

4  52 

4  66 

3  °1 

4  13 

8 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  not  topped  

7.79 

5  56 

6  °8 

6  54 

9 
10 

Pruned  to  single  stem  early;  then  branched 
Pruned  to  two  stems  

11.63 
12.43 

13.42 
9  63 

15.87 
9  47 

13.64 
10  51 

11 

Pruned  to  three  stems  

13.60 

10.32 

12.51 

12.14 

12 

Staked  but  not  pruned  ,  

14  34 

16  08 

19  06 

16  49 

13 

Neither  staked  nor  oruned.  . 

16.12 

21.57 

21.32 

19.67 

These  tables  show  that  the  plants  pruned  to" single  stems  were 
comparatively  low  in  total  yields,  as  they  were  in  early  yields.  In 
general  the  pruning  reduced  the  total  yields  somewhat  in  propor- 
tion to  its  severity.  Special  attention  should  be  called  to  the  plants 
pruned  early  to  single  stems  and  then  allowed  to  branch.  The  plants 
were  pruned  only  once  or  twice  and  soon  outgrew  the  effects  of 
the  early  pruning  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  season  they  had  prac- 
tically as  many  branches  as  the  unpruned  plants,  and  ranked  well 
in  total  yield. 

The  tables  show  further  that  the  plants  which  were  staked  but 
not  pruned  gave  in  Union  county,  larger  yields  than  those  which 
were  allowed  to  grow  naturally  upon  the  ground,  while  at  Urbana 
the  results  were  the  reverse.  These  results  correspond  to  those  in 
reference  to  early  yields  already  noted,  and  demand  explanation. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  yields  reported  in  the  tables  repre- 
sent only  the  marketable  fruit.  In  Union  county  the  proportion  of 
the  crop  which  could  be  graded  as  marketable  was  much  greater 
for  the  plants  which  were  staked  but  not  pruned  than  for  those 
which  were  not  staked ;  while  at  Urbana  the  proportion  of  market- 
able fruits  was  approximately  the  same  for  plants  under  both  treat- 
ments. This  is  plainly  shown  by  Table  12. 

TABLE  12.— PERCENTAGE  OF  MARKETABLE  TOMATOES 


Plat 

Place 

Treatment 

1906 

1907 

19C8 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

12 
13 
12 
13 

Union  Co. 
ii 

Urbana 
« 

Staked  but  not  pruned  
Neither  staked  nor  pruned 
Staked  but  not  pruned   .  . 
Neither  staked  nor  prnned 

55.60 
39.80 

46.55 
30.23 
71.70 
70.38 

77.69 
61.45 
73.10 
76.50 

35.55 
35.24 
69.89 
68.86 

53.84 
41.68 
71.56 
71.91 

The  cause  of  the  greater  percentage  of  culls  on  the  unstaked 
plants  in  Union  county  was  the  rotting  of  the  fruit  in  contact  with 
the  ground  in  wet  weather,  and  the  injury  by  sunburning  of  the 
fruits  unprotected  by  the  foliage  in  hot  weather.  An  untrained 
plant  affords  much  less  protection  to  its  fruits  from  the  sun  than 


76 


BULLETIN   No.    144 


[February, 


does  a  trained  plant.  At  Urbana,  there  was  much  less  injury  from 
both  these  causes  than  in  Union  county,  o\ying  to  the  differences 
in  rainfall  and  intensity  of  heat.  This  at  least  partially  accounts 
for  the  differences  in  results  of  these  treatments  at  the  two  places. 

EFFECT  OF  PRUNING  ON  SIZE  OF  TOMATOES 

Pruning  is  often  recommended  as  a  means  of  increasing  the 
size  of  tomatoes,  and  single  stem  pruning  urged  especially  for  the 
production  of  large  fruits  early  in  the  season.  For  the  purpose  of 
securing  data  regarding  the  effect  of  pruning  upon  the  size  of  the 
fruits  the  tomatoes  from  the  plants  in  the  pruning  experiment  in 
1907,  1908  and  1909,  were  counted  as  well  as  weighed,  so  that 
the  average  weight  of  the  specimens  from  each  plat  could  be  de- 
termined. The  average  weights  of  the  fruits  classed  as  early  to- 
matoes from  the  various  plats,  are  given  in  Tables  13  and  14.  In 
calculating  these  averages,  all  fruits,  both  marketable  fruits  and 
culls,  have  been  included.  The  weights  are  expressed  in  pounds. 

TABLE  13. — AVERAGE  WEIGHT  OF  EARLY  TOMATOES  PER  FRUIT,  UNION 

COUNTY 


Plat 

Treatment 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

7 

.235 

.291 

.273 

266 

8 

Pruned,  to  single  stem*  not  topped  

.270 

306 

284 

286 

9 
10 

Pruned  to  single  stem  early;  then  branched 
Pruned  to  two  stems    

.265 
281 

.332 
.335 

.303 

.288 

.300 
301 

11 

.281 

.329 

.269 

293 

12 

Staked  but  not  pruned    ••        

.226 

337 

255 

272 

13 

Neither  staked  nor  oruned 

.195 

.303 

.279 

.259 

TABLE  14. — AVERAGE  WEIGHT  OK  EARLY  TOMATOES  PER  FRUIT,  URBANA 


Plat 

Treatment 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

7 
8 

Pruned  to  single  stem;  topped      
Pruned  to  single  stem;  not  topped  

.451 
.438 

.410 
418 

.382 
.363 

.414 

.406 

9 
10 

Pruned  to  single  stem  early;  then  branched 
Pruned  to  two  stems      

.414 

-444 

.434 
.372 

.376 
382 

.408 
402 

11 

.380 

.418 

.435 

.411 

12 

Staked  but  not  pruned  .      

.359 

.432 

.348 

.379 

13 

Neither  staked  nor  pruned    

.394 

.410 

.?99 

.401 

The  average  weights  of  the  early  fruits  are  used  for  this  com- 
parison rather  than  the  average  weights  for  the  total  crop,  because 
the  most  severely  pruned  plants  produced  only  lightly  after  the 
ripening  of  the  early  fruits,  and  it  seemed  advisable  to  compare 
the  size  of  fruits  produced  at  the  same  time. 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 


77 


In  both  localities  the  pruning  had  but  slight  effect  upon  the 
size  of  the  fruit  and  in  only  one  case  did  the  plants  pruned  to  sin- 
gle stems  produce  the  largest  fruits.  Pruning  to  single  stems  not 
only  failed  to  increase  the  size  of  the  early  fruits,  but  also  reduced 
the  foliage  to  such  an  extent  that  the  fruit  was  badly  exposed. 
Sunburning  and  cracking  of  the  fruit  followed.  The  excessive 
cracking  of  fruits  on  single  stem  plants,  especially  those  which 
were  topped,  was  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  experi- 
ment. 

Since  pruning  to  single  stems  reduces  the  yield  of  both  early 
and  late  fruit,  exposes  the  fruits  to  sunscald  and  cracking,  and 
does  not  materially  increase  their  size,  it  is  not  to  be  recommended. 
Less  severe  pruning,  tho  less  detrimental  to  the  plants,  and  in 
some  cases  apparently  increasing  the  yield  over  that  of  unpruned 
plants,  does  not  give  results  warranting  its  practice.  The  pruning 
of  tomatoes  adds  considerably  to  the  expense  of  their  culture,  and 
under  the  conditions  of  the  experiments  reported,  such  expense  is 
unwarranted. 

Whether  or  not  tomatoes  should  be  staked  and  tied,  or  allowed 
to  lie  naturally  upon  the  ground,  seems  to  depend  upon  local  con- 
ditions. In  localities  where  tomatoes  are  subject  to  rot  and  sun- 


FIG.  11.    FIELD  otf  TOMATOES  TRAINED  ON  STAKES. 


78  BULLETIN    No.    144  [February, 

scald  it  is  a  decided  advantage  to  have  them  upon  stakes.  Also 
where  the  season  is  likely  to  be  dry,  the  tomato  crop  is  under  better 
control  if  trained  on  stakes,  for  cultivation  can  then  be  continued 
as  late  as  desired.  This  would  be  impossible  with  untrained  plants, 
for  they  fall  to  the  ground  from  the  weight  of  their  fruit.  The 
fruit  from  trained  plants  is  also  held  up  from  the  ground  so  that 
it  is  not  spattered  with  mud  in  times  of  rain,  and  therefore  requires 
less  wiping  in  preparation  for  market.  Under  the  conditions  ex- 
isting in  Union  county,  it  would  seem  advisable  to  practice  staking 
and  tying,  while  at  Urbana  the  crop  seems  to  succeed  fully  as  well 
without  training.  However,  in  exceptionally  wet  seasons,  stak- 
ing might  be  an  advantage  even  in  localities  where  conditions  are 
similar  to  those  at  Urbana. 

Another  factor  which  should  be  considered  is  the  difference  in 
cost  of  training  tomatoes  in  different  localities.  The  cost  is  con- 
siderably greater  in  a  prairie  region  like  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Ur- 
bana, where  the  stakes  must  be  purchased  at  the  lumber  yard,  than 
in  regions  where  native  timber  is  abundant. 

SPRAYING  FOR  THE  CONTROL  OF  LEAF  SPOT 

While  the  tomato  is  subject  to  attack  by  several  fungous  dis- 
eases, the  one  most  prevalent  and  widely  distributed  in  this  state  is 
the  leaf  spot  (Septoria  lycopersici)  often  called  the  "rust."  This 
disease  is  especially  destructive  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state. 
Its  presence  may  be  recognized  by  the  appearance  of  small,  circu- 
lar, brown  spots  upon  the  lower  leaves.  The  infection  gradually 
progresses  upward  on  the  plant,  the  leaves  dying  in  the  order  of 
their  infection,  as  the  season  advances.  In  cases  of  severe  attack. 
the  leaves  die -more  rapidly  than  new  foliage  is  formed,  and  the 
plants  become  so  weakened  that  they  cease  to  produce  marketable 
fruit.  On  untrained  plants  bereft  of  their  lower  leaves  the  fruit 
is  very  likely  to  sunburn. 

On  account  of  the  prevalence  of  this  disease  and  its  economic 
importance  to  commercial  growers  in  Southern  Illinois,  experi- 
ments were  undertaken  in  Union  county  to  determine  the  value  of 
spraying  as  a  means  of  control.  These  experiments  have  been  con- 
tinued for  five  successive  seasons.  In  all  the  spraying  the  stand- 
ard 4-4-50  Bordeaux  mixture  was  the  material  used.  When  to- 
mato worms  appeared,  Paris  green  was  added  to  the  mixture. 
Each  year,  the  various  plats  in  the  experiment  were  sprayed  as 
follows : 

Plat  1.     Sprayed  at    intervals    of    two    weeks    thruout    the    season,    begin- 
ning after   the  plants   were   set  and   continuing  until  the  ship- 
ping season  was  over 
2.     Sprayed  every  two  weeks  until  the  shipping  season  began 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 


79 


3.  Sprayed  every  four  weeks  thruout  the  season 

4.  Sprayed  every  two  weeks  until  the  plants  were  staked 

5.  Sprayed  every  two  weeks,  beginning  after  the  plants  became  badly 

infected  with  leaf   spot,  and  continuing  until  the   close  of  the 
shipping  season 

6.  Check.     Not  sprayed. 

METHOD  OF  SPRAYING 

The  spraying  was  done  with  a  barrel  hand  pump  and  double 
vermorel  nozzle.  Some  seasons  the  plats  were  arranged  in  a  long 
narrow  strip  so  that  a  wagon  could  be  driven  along  each  side  and 
the  spraying  done  with  the  aid  of  a  long  hose  and  bamboo  pole. 
To  do  spraying  in  this  way  on  a  commercial  scale  it  would  be 
necessary  to  leave  driveways  thru  the  field  every  sixty  or  sev- 
enty feet.  To  spray  without  having  these  driveways,  the  spray  bar- 


FIG.  12.     SPRAY  CART  USED  IN  SPRAYING  TOMATOES. 

rel  may  be  mounted  on  a  low,  one-horse  cart  with  an  axle  short 
enough  to  go  between  two  adjoining  rows  of  tomatoes.  Such  a 
cart  was  used  for  the  experimental  work  in  1905  and  1906.  With 
this  arrangement  ten  or  fifteen  feet  of  hose  are  sufficient  and  a 
short  spray  pole  is  more  convenient  than  a  long  one.  This  method 
of  spraying  is  adapted  only  to  staked  tomatoes,  while  the  other 
may  be  employed  for  tomatoes  either  staked  or  unstaked.  In  both 
methods  two  men  are  required  to  do  the  work,  one  to  drive  and 
pump  and  the  other  to  hold  the  nozzle. 

The  date  of  the  first  application  varied  in  the  different  seasons 
from  May  16  to  June  12.  Usually  the  disease  had  appeared  in  the 
plantation  before  the  first  application  was  made,  and  in  1908  the 
infection  was  so  bad  that  treatment  to  Plat  5  was  begun  at  the 
time  of  the  second  application  to  Plat  i.  In  other  years  the  in  fee- 


80 


BULLETIN    No.    144 


[February, 


tion  did  not  become  bad  until  somewhat  later.     The  number  of  ap- 
plications given  each  plat  each  year  is  shown  in  Table  15. 

TABLE  15. — NUMBER  OF  APPLICATIONS  OF  SPRAYING  MATERIAL 


Plat 

Treatment 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1 

Sprayed  every  two  weeks  

6 

5 

6 

6 

6 

2 

Sprayed   every  two  weeks  until  ship- 
ping began  

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

Sprayed  every  four  weeks  

4 

3 

3 

3 

3 

4 
5 

Sprayed  every  two  weeks  until  staked. 
Sprayed  every  two  weeks  after  badly 
infected  

1 

4 

1 
3 

1 
1 

2 
5 

2 
3 

6 

Check.     Not  sprayed  

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Thus  the  plants    sprayed    every    two    weeks  thruout  the    sea- 
son usually  received  six  applications ;    those  sprayed  until  the  be- 


FIG.  13.  SPRAYED  TOMATO  PLANT,  FROM  PLAT    FIG.  14.     UNSPRAYED  TOMATO 
1,  AUGUST  9,  1909.  PLANT,  FROM  PLAT  6,  AUGUST 

9,  1909. 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 


81 


ginning  of  the  shipping  season,  and  also  those  sprayed  every  four 
weeks  thruout  the  season,  three  applications;  and  the  plants 
sprayed  until  staked,  either  one  or  two  applications.  The  number 
of  applications  made  to  Plat  5  after  the  plants  became  badly  in- 
fected, varied  from  I  to  5,  depending  upon  the  relative  time  of 
severe  infection. 

The  effect  of  the  spraying  was  very  marked.  The  progress  of 
the  disease  was  checked  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  spraying. 
Unsprayed  plants  lost  much  of  their  foliage  early  and  were  bare 
almost  to  their  tips  at  the  close  of  the  shipping  season,  while  the 
sprayed  plants  retained  their  foliage  in  varying  amounts.  Al- 
tho  all  plants  lost  some  foliage  at  the  base,  those  sprayed  regu- 
larly and  often  retained  sufficient  foliage  to  properly  mature  their 
fruit,  and  were  still  producing  blossoms  and  green  fruit  at  the 
close  of  the  shipping  season.  Specimens  of  sprayed  and  unsprayed 
plants  (from  Plats  i  and  6,  respectively)  were  photographed  Aug- 
ust 9,  1909,  and  are  shown  in  Figures  13  and  14. 

EFFECT  OF  SPRAYING  ON  YIELD  OF  FRUIT 

The  effect  of  the  spraying  was  further  shown  by  the  yield  of 
fruit.  Early  in  the  season  the  unsprayed  plants  often  produced 
more  fruit  than  those  which  had  been  sprayed,  but  the  sprayed 
plants  produced  much  higher  total  yields  for  the  entire  season. 

The  fruits  classed  as  early  were  gathered  during  the  same  pe- 
riod as  designated  in  the  fertilizer  experiments  previously  reported. 
The  average  yields  of  early  tomatoes  in  pounds  per  plant  are  given 
in  Table  16. 

TABLE  16  —YIELDS  OF  EARLY  TOMATOES,  IN  POUNDS  OF  MARKETABLE 

FRUIT  PER  PLANT 


Plat 

Treatment 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

1 

Sprayed  every  two  weeks  

.25 

1  65 

1  02 

.32 

1  08 

2 

Sprayed  every  two  weeks  until 
shipping"  season     

42 

1  95 

.41 

31 

1  02 

3 

Sprayed  every  four  weeks  

.37 

1  71 

52 

45 

1  01 

4 

Sprayed  every  two  weeks  until 
tomatoes  were  staked  

.23 

1.77 

80 

.45 

1.C8 

5 

Sprayed  every  two  weeks  after 

.34 

1.97 

.90 

.55 

1.25 

6 

Check.     Not  soraved.  . 

.65 

1.78 

.74 

.65 

1.27 

These  figures  show  that  so  far  as  extra  early  tomatoes  are  con- 
cerned, there  is,  on  the  average,  no  benefit  to  be  derived  from  the 
spraying,  for  the  plats  which  were  not  sprayed  in  the  early  part  of 
the  season  produced  the  highest  average  yields  of  early  fruit.  The 


82 


BULLETIN   No.    144 


[February, 


fungicide  seems  to  conserve  the  energy  of  the  plants  and  cause 
them  to  continue  growth  rather  than  ripen  early  fruit. 

However,  this  extra  early  fruit  constitutes  only  a  small  part  of 
the  entire  crop  from  the  sprayed  plants.  When  total  yields  are 
considered,  the  sprayed  plants  so  far  outstrip  the  unsprayed  as  to 
completely  overcome  the  slight  advantage  of  the  unsprayed  plants 
in  reference  to  early  fruit.  The  total  yields  from  the  various  plats 
in  terms  of  pounds  per  plant  are  given  in  Table  17.  These  yields 
include  only  the  marketable  tomatoes  which  ripened  before  the  close 
of  the  shipping  season. 

TABLE  17.  — TOTAL  YIELDS  OF  MARKETABLE  TOMATOES,  IN  POUNDS 

PER  PLANT 


Plat 

Treatment 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Aver- 
age 

1 
2 

Sprayed  every  two  weeks  
Sprayed  every  two  weeks  until 
shipping'  began  

8.32 
8  80 

1.09 
1  85 

5.93 
6  05 

5.63 
1  93 

2.72 
2  29 

4.73 
4  18 

3 

Sprayed  every  four  weeks   ... 

7  55 

1  27 

6  02 

2  87 

2  66 

4  07 

4 

Sprayed  every  two  weeks  until 

5  48 

72 

5  52 

2  46 

1  99 

3  23 

5 

Sprayed  every  two  weeks  after 
badly  infected  

4  19 

.91 

5.73 

4.14 

1  78 

3  35 

6 

Check.     Not  sprayed  

3.61 

2.30 

4.36 

2.27 

1  82 

2.87 

The  above  table  shows  that  regular,  frequent  applications  of 
Bordeaux  mixture  are  very  effective  in  securing  large  total  yields 
of  marketable  tomatoes,  and  also  that  early  spraying,  as  on  Plat 
2,  gives  much  better  results  than  late  spraying,  as  on  Plat  5.  The 
exceptional  yield  from  Plat  5  in  1908  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
spraying  of  this  plat  was  commenced  relatively  early  that  year  and 
more  applications  than  usual  were  made.  The  conflicting  results 
obtained  in  1906  are  due  to  the  effects  of  the  wilt  which  attacked 
the  field  in  spots.  The  check  plat  was  in  one  of  the  spots  not  af- 
fected early  in  the  season,  while  the  other  plats  were  severely  at- 
tacked. 

These  experiments  indicate  that  it  is  possible  to  control  the  leaf 
spot  by  spraying.  The  control  of  this  disease  does  not  usually  in- 
crease the  yield  of  extra  early  fruit,  but  very  materially  increases 
the  total  yield  during  the  normal  shipping  season.  For  the  most 
certain  results  five  or  six  applications  should  be  made  at  intervals 
of  two  weeks,  beginning  within  two  weeks  after  the  plants  are  set 
in  the  field. 

TOMATO  WILT 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  wilt  which  appeared  in 
the  experimental  tomato  plantation  in  1906.  This  disease,  known 


t-yio] 


GROWING  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET 


83 


as  fusarium  wilt,  is  not  in  the  least  affected  by  the  application  of 
spraying  materials  to  the  plants,  and  should  not  be  confused  with 
the  leaf  spot,  which,  as  indicated  above,  can  be  effectively  con- 
trolled by  the  judicious  use  of  Bordeaux  mixture.  The  wilt  has 
been  observed  in  Union  county  for  a  number  of  years,  and  has 
caused  the  loss  of  many  a  promising  crop.  Affected  plants  are 
characterized  by  a  sudden  wilting  of  entire  branches,  or  even  the 
entire  plant.  Within  a  few  days  the  wilted  portions  become  brown 
and  dead.  Examination  of  the  wilted  stems  reveals  a  discolored, 

brownish  appearance  of  the 
woody  portion.  The  plants 
may  die  before  any  fruit  has 
matured  or  after  any  part  of 
the  crop  has  been  gathered. 

The  first  season  that  the 
wilt  appears  in  a  given  field, 
usually  only  a  few  plants  are 
infected,  but  if  the  same  field 
is  used  for  tomatoes  the  nexl 
year,  the  attack  is  likely  to  be 
very  severe,  for  the  disease  is 
carried  over  in  the  soil.  The 
length  of  time  the  disease 
will  remain  in  badly  infected 
soil  is  not  known.  It  is,  there- 
fore, important  to  practice 
rotation  of  crops  so  that  the 
soil  will  not  become  badly  in- 
fected. Care  should  also  be 
taken  in  securing  soil  for  the 
beds  in  which  the  plants  are 
grown.  Fresh  soil  should  be  put  in  the  beds  each  year,  and  it 
should  be  secured  from  a  part  of  the  farm  which  has  never  grown 
tomatoes  nor  received  the  wash  from  tomato  fields.  It  is  also  im- 
portant to  avoid  inoculating  a  new  field  by  means  of  soil  carried 
from  an  infected  field  on  tools  or  the  feet  of  men  or  farm  animals. 

HARVESTING  AND  MARKETING 

After  a  crop  of  tomatoes  has  been  successfully  grown  the  profits 
to  be  realized  depend,  in  a  large  measure,  upon  the  methods  em- 
ployed in  harvesting  and  marketing. 

PICKING 

Tomatoes  must  be  picked  carefully,  and  the  stems  broken  off 
in  order  to  avoid  bruising  and  puncturing  the  fruits  when  they  are 


FIG.  15. 


TOMATO  PI<ANT  KITTED  BY 
WII/T. 


84  BULLETIN   No.    144  [February, 

placed  in  the  picking  basket.  As  a  further  precaution  against 
bruising,  some  growers  line  the  picking  baskets  with  burlap.  The 
tomatoes  are  carried  or  hauled  to  the  packing  shed*  in  these 
baskets  or  placed  in  boxes  and  hauled  in. 

If  the  tomatoes  are  to  be  shipped  to  a  distant  market,  they 
should  be  picked  when  about  one-third  of  each  fruit  is  well  colored. 
At  this  stage  of  ripeness  the  fruits  are  still  firm  and  will  carry  in 
excellent  condition.  By  the  time  they  reach  the  market,  two  or 
three  days  later,  they  will  be  nicely  colored.  If  a  local  market  is 
to  be  supplied,  the  fruits  should  be  riper  when  they  are  picked.  By 
picking  ever  two  days,  practically  all  of  the  fruits  can  be  secured 
at  the  proper  stage  of  maturity.  However,  in  hot  weather  when 
the  tomatoes  are  ripening  rapidly,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  pick 
every  day  in  order  to  avoid  over-ripeness. 

Tomato  picking  is  very  dirty  work.  The  dirty  green  stain  from 
the  vines  which  collects  on  the  picker's  hands  and  clothes  is  difficult 
to  remove.  If  the  hands  are  rubbed  thoroly  with  a  green  tomato 
or  a  crushed  stalk  of  rhubarb  immediately  after  the  picking  is  com- 
pleted, the  greater  part  of  the  stain  can  be  removed.  Old  gar- 
ments should  be  worn  while  picking  tomatoes,  and  should  be  re- 
served for  that  particular  purpose,  for  it  is  impossible  to  keep  them 
clean.  Another  disagreeable  feature  about  tomato  picking  is  that 
the  tomato  vines,  as  well  as  the  stain  from  them,  have  a  peculiar 
odor,  which  is  nauseating  to  some  persons  until  they  have  become 
accustomed  to  it. 


Tomatoes  which  have  been  sprayed  late  in  the  season  show  the 
stain  of  the  Bordeaux  mixture  when  they  are  picked.  Those  from 
vines  which  lie  upon  the  ground  are  more  or  less  soiled  with  dirt. 
In  either  case  the  tomatoes  should  be  carefully  wiped  with  a  damp 
cloth  before  they  are  packed.  This  can  be  clone  most  conveniently 
as  they  are  being  removed  from  the  picking  baskets  to  the  packing 
table. 

GRADING 

Tomatoes  should  be  graded  before  they  are  sent  to  market. 
Much  of  the  dissatisfaction  with  tomatoes  on  the  market,  and  much 
loss  in  the  hands  of  retailers  is  due  to  the  fact  that  many  tomatoes 
are  sent  to  market  which  should  never  have  left  the  premises  of 
the  grower.  This  applies  particularly  to  specimens  which  are  so 
badly  cracked  that  the  juice  oozes  from  them  before  they  reach  the 
market.  One  leaking  tomato  in  a  crate  is  likely  to  ruin  the  sale  of 
the  entire  package,  for  if  it  leaks  enough  to  be  detected,  the  crate 

*The  construction  of  packing  sheds  is  fully  described  in  Bulletin  No.  124. 


(jkouixo  TU.MAIUL.S  i-uk  KARLV   MARKEI  85 

is  designated  as  a  "leaker"  and  is  sold  at  a  decided  discount.  Rough 
or  over-ripe  specimens  or  those  of  very  small  size  are  almost  as 
objectionable,  for  they  spoil  the  sale  of  good  specimens  if  placed  in 
the  same  package,  and  if  packed  alone  they  often  fail  to  bring 
enough  on  the  market  to  pay  for  the  expenses  of  marketing. 

In  grading  tomatoes,  then,  all  badly  cracked,  rough,  over-ripe, 
or  under-sized  specimens  should  be  discarded  as  culls.  The  salable 
tomatoes  are  usually  put  in  one  grade,  but  for  discriminating  mar- 
kets, better  results  would  be  secured  if  two  grades  were  made. 
There  is  a  distinct  demand  for  sound,  smooth  tomatoes,  regular  in 
shape,  free  from  cracks,  and  of  such  a  size  that  twelve  specimens 
fill  a  basket.  Tomatoes  of  this  character  should  be  marketed  in  a 
grade  by  themselves,  and  may  be  designated  Xo.  i.  Sound  speci- 
mens, slightly  inferior  to  the  above  in  size  or  smoothness,  or  with 
slight  cracks  about  the  stem,  which  have  healed  over  so  that  there 
is  no  danger  of  their  leaking,  may  be  graded  as  Xo.  2.  Over-grown 
specimens  should  also  be  graded  as  X*o.  2.  Tomatoes  which  are 
so  small  that  over  Aventy  specimens  would  be  required  to  pack  a 
basket,  are  not  in  demand  on  the  market. 

If  the  tomatoes  are  not  uniform  in  ripeness,  each  grade  should 
be  further  sorted,  on  the  basis  of  color,  and  only  tomatoes  uniform 
in  maturity  packed  in  the  same  crate. 

The  grading  of  tomatoes,  as  well  as  the  wiping  (when  neces- 
sary), is  usually  done  as  the  fruits  are  being  transferred  from  the 
picking  baskets  or  field  boxes  to  the  packing  table. 

PACKING 

For  local  market,  no  special  kind  of  package  for  tomatoes  is 
demanded.  They  are  often  hauled  to  market  in  half -bushel  or 
bushel  baskets  or  in  boxes.  Usually  no  special  arrangement  of  the 
specimens  in  the  package  is  attempted,  tho  sometimes  the  fruits 
are  placed  in  more  or  less  regular  order.  For  shipment  to  distant 
markets,  however,  special  kinds  of  packages  are  demanded,  and 
careful  placing  of  the  specimens  in  the  package  is  imperative  in 
order  that  the  tomatoes  may  reach  the  market  in  presentable  con- 
dition. 

PACKING   ix  CRATES 

The  standard  package  for  tomatoes  produced  in  Southern  Illi- 
nois is  the  four-basket  crate.  The  dimensions  of  this  crate  are 
22"xi3"x4-^".  The  baskets  are  io"x6}4"  at  the  top  and  8}/"x 
4^4"  at  the  bottom,  and  4"  deep.  Twelve  tomatoes  of  the  best 
grade  are  packed  in  each  basket.  Six  specimens  are  placed,  stem 
side  down,  in  the  bottom  of  the  basket,  and  six  more,  of  a  some- 


86 


BULLETIN    No.    144 


[February, 


what  larger  size,  are  similarly  placed  on  the  top.  The  specimens 
should  fit  so  tightly  that  they  completely  fill  the  basket,  but  are  not 
squeezed  so  much  as  to  be  injured.  The  top  layer  should  extend 


FIG.  16.    CRATE  OF  No.  1  TOMATOES 

SHOWING  STYLE  OF  PACK. 

to  the  top  of  the  crate,  so  that  when  the  cover  is  put  on,  it  will 
press  upon  the  tomatoes  sufficiently  to  hold  them  in  place.  The 
cover  of  the  crate  consists  of  two  slats  which  are  nailed  on  after 
the  baskets  have  been  filled.  These  slats  are  of  such  a  width  that 
the  edges  of  the  tomatoes  are  exposed  to  view  along  each  side  of 
the  basket.  This  makes  an  exceedingly  attractive  package. 


FIG.  17.    STYLE  OF  PACK  FOR  SMALL  TOMATOES. 


/p/o]  (ikouiNG  TOMATOES  FOR  EARLY  MARKET  87 

For  smaller  sized  fruits,  the  style  of  pack  is  varied.  Usually 
it  is  necessary  to  place  the  fruits  of  the  top  layer  on  edge  in  order 
to  bring  them  up  to  the  proper  height.  Care  is  taken  to  arrange 
these  fruits  so  that  the  blossom  ends  are  exposed  to  view  after  the 
top  slats  are  nailed  on  the  crate. 

PACKING  IN  BASKETS 

» 

In  some  sections  of  Illinois,  especially  in  localities  where  the 
shipping  of  tomatoes  is  of  minor  importance  as  compared  with  the 
shipping  of  melons,  the  one-third  bushel  climax  basket  commonly 
used  for  melons  is  also  used  for  the  tomatoes.  In  this  package  the 
tomatoes  are  placed  in  three  layers.  The  arrangement  of  the  spec- 
imens in  each  layer  depends  upon  the  size  of  the  fruit.  Unless  the 
fruits  are  exceedingly  large  it  is  necessary  to  pack  at  least  one 
layer  on  edge,  and  in  the  case  of  small  specimens  it  may  be  found 
necessary  to  pack  two  layers  in  this  manner.  The  packing  thru- 
out  should  be  so  tight  that  each  specimen  will  remain  exactly  where 
it  has  been  placed.  Special  care  should  be  taken  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  tomatoes  in  the  top  layer,  so  that  the  package  will 
present  a  neat  appearance.  This  layer  should  extend  high  enough 
to  touch  the  cover  so  that  the  specimens  will  be  held  in  place,  and 
yet  not  crushed  by  the  pressure.  When  used  for  packing  tomatoes 
the  climax  basket  should  be  provided  with  a  single-slat,  rather  than 
a  two-slat,  cover,  since  this  type  of  cover  gives  the  package  a  more 
finished  appearance. 

TYPES  OF  TOMATOES  DEMANDED  BY  THE  MARKET 

Formerly  only  two  brands  of  tomatoes  were  recognized  on  the 
Chicago  market — the  market  which  determines  the  classification 
of  most  Illinois  tomatoes  in  so  far  as  they  are  classified  at  all. 
These  were  known  as  "Acme"  and  "Trophy."  All  large,  smooth, 
purple  or  pink  tomatoes  were  classed  as  Acme,  while  all  the  bright' 
red  or  scarlet  sorts  were  classed  as  Trophy.  Most  of  the  bright 
red  tomatoes  were  more  or  less  rough  and  wrinkled,  so  that  the 
bright  red  color  and  the  roughness  of  fruit  were  always  associated 
in  the  mind  of  the  produce  buyer.  Thus  a  strong  prejudice  against 
bright  red  tomatoes  was  early  developed  on  the  Chicago  market, 
and  still  persists,  theoretically  at  least,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
many  extremely  smooth  varieties  of  bright  red  color  have  been 
developed.  Likewise  purple  color  and  smoothness  of  fruit  have 
long  been  associated  in  the  mind  of  the  Chicago  marketman,  since 
the  original  Acme  tomato  was  of  that  color  and  character.  How- 
ever, the  recent  introduction  of  certain  extra  early,  rough-fruited 
varieties  of  purple  color  has  somewhat  confused  the  original  classi- 


88  BULLETIN    \n.     N4  [l;c'onmry, 

fication,  for  some  shippers  are  inclined  to  brand  these  rough  to- 
matoes as  "Acme"  on  account  of  their  color.  The  produce  dealers, 
however,  do  not  recognize  this  classification,  and  are  beginning  to 
quote  these  rough,  purple  sorts  by  their  variety  names.  In  like 
manner,  the  shipment  of  large,  smooth,  bright  red  tomatoes  is  be- 
coming of  sufficient  extent  to  warrant  a  separation  of  these  toma- 
toes from  the  old  Trophy  class  in  the  market  quotations  and  cer- 
tain leading  varities  of  this  character  are  now  sometimes  quoted 
under  their  variety  names.  Large,  rough-fruited  tomatoes  of  the 
Ponderosa  type  are  not  recognized  on  the  general  market,  though 
they  may  be  salable  in  some  local  markets. 

The  Chicago  market  declares  decidedly  in  favor  of  tomatoes  of 
the  Acme  type.  The  same  is  true  of  Peoria,  Bloomington  and 
Galesburg.  Ouincy,  Springfield  and  Decatur  do  not  seem  to  be  so 
particular  as  to  the  color  of  the  tomato  so  long  as  the  fruit  is 
smooth. 

Some  of  the  varieties  of  tomatoes  extensively  grown  in  South- 
ern Illinois  which  are  everywhere  recognized  as  belonging  to  the 
Acme  type  are  the  Imperial,  Livingston's  Beauty,  Trucker's  Favor- 
ite, Dwarf  Champion  and  Magnus.  The  leading  variety  of  the 
Trophy  type  is  the  Earliana,  and  this  has  become  so  predominat- 
ing a  variety  of  that  type  that  it  is  often  quoted  under  its  own 
name.  The  leading  rough-fruited  varieties  with  the  Acme  color 
are  the  Earliest  Pink  and  June  Pink.  Some  of  the  best  varieties 
of  smooth,  bright  red  tomatoes  are  Chalk's  Early  Jewel,  Stone 
and  Matchless. 

Tomatoes  of  the  Trophy  type,  especially  the  Earliana,  are 
grown  quite  extensively  on  account  of  their  extreme  earliness. 
Earliest  Pink  and  June  Pink  are  being  grown  to  some  extent,  for 
the  same  reason.  These  varieties  usually  bring  good  prices  if  there 
are  no  other  tomatoes  on  the  market,  but  as  soon  as  the  market  is 
supplied  with  smooth  varieties,  there  is  little  demand  for  these 
rough  sorts.  Even  at  their  best,  these  varieties  produce  a  high  per- 
centage of  culls,  and  should,  in  most  cases,  be  discarded  by  all 
growers  who  desire' to  produce  tomatoes  acceptable  to  the  trade. 
With  well-grown  plants  of  a  slightly  later  variety,  but  one  which 
produces  large,  smooth  fruits,  the  careful  grower  can  practically 
control  the  early  tomato  market  of  his  locality.  For  shipment  to 
the  city  markets  also,  it  is  unwise  to  depend  upon  rough-fruited 
sorts,  for  even  if  early,  they  usually  must  compete  against  smooth 
later  sorts  from  more  southern  localities. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


